The Lost Souls
by FudoTwin17
Summary: Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei have disappeared and are never found. Years later, they reappear in an organization that isn't on the right side. Can their friends help them. And the girl? Does she have the key to saving them? And why can't they escape the group?
1. The First to Fall

FudoTwin17; Hey, guys! I'm deleting a story, so you better like this!

Cat; She's deleting her first story, because she lost all interest in it, so she is . . . . well, you know.

Goldfish # 1; She doesn't own Yu-gi-oh, Yu-gi-oh GX, or Yu-gi-oh 5D's.

Goldfish # 2; Thankfully!

FudoTwin17; Hey!

Chapter 1

Yugi was quiet. He was bloody mess. His clothes were torn and many of his wounds were infected.

That night, he'd lost everything.

His friends were far away. They had talked like they didn't want him as their friend anymore. They had hurt him. It was strange. After everything they had been through . . . they left.

His grandpa had gotten sick suddenly. And now . . . now he was dead.

Dead. The word didn't feel right. After losing his best friend, it didn't seem right.

Yugi felt tears fall from his eyes. They pooled in a small area on the stairs with blood that he hadn't even tried to stop.

All the doors were unlocked. Everything was unprotected. Nothing was right.

He didn't care anymore. He couldn't care anymore. He'd given so much up and had lost so much that he had nothing left besides the game shop. Slowly, it was even beginning to mean less and less. It was excruciating.

Yugi heard footsteps. Now, he really didn't care.

"Yugi, you will come with me." Glancing up, Yugi saw a man in a black trench coat, with sunglasses and slicked back hair, "I said now."

The guy pulled a gun. Yugi quietly stood and followed him.

He wished the guy would shoot him, but instead he was stuck.

Yugi was needed, but he wasn't the only one.

. . .

Joey looked around, "Do you guys see him?"

Taya and Tristan shook their heads.

Joey looked up and growled, "Kaiba."

Seto didn't even look up. He just growled.

"Kaiba! Do you know where Yugi is?" Taya asked.

"Probably hiding from you. After what you did, he might even be at his home." Seto replied.

He started to walk away, but Tristan got in his way, "What are you talking about? What did we do?"

Kaiba stared, "You really don't know? After Yugi went to talk to the loser-"

"Hey!" Joey tried to interrupt, but failed.

"Of course, he denied being Yugi's friend and brutally beat him up. He looked to Taya for help, but she just laughed. And then you beat him up. In the end I decided to intervene." Kaiba suddenly looked at Joey, "You're not hurt."

"Huh?"

"When I helped him, I gave you a black eye, but you're not hurt."

They stared at Kaiba. Something terrible dawned on them.

The madness wasn't over.

FudoTwin17; Sorry it was so short and lacking of detail, but I'm really tired right now. Bye.

Cat; R&R!


	2. Second to be Taught the Lesson

FudoTwin17; Hey! ***Get's hit in face and falls down two flights of stairs***

Cat; You are in so much trouble!

EmoVampire101: Yep! I'm dead.

Dog # 1; I'll call an ambulance.

Cat; Better get her journal. It has the chapter written down in it.

Goldfish # 2; She, uh, doesn't own Yu-gi-oh, Yu-gi-oh GX, or Yu-gi-oh 5D's.

GoldFish # 3; Got the journal! Here's the chapter.

Chapter 2

Jaden walked the streets of Domino with his jacket warmly pulled around him. He promised Alexis that he'd visit her and Blare. He was glad things worked out for them.

Alexis had gotten a job at Duel Academy and Blare got to be her assistant.

He glanced at his watch and growled. The last faerie to Duel Academy was in six minutes! Time to run!

Jaden hurried and realized he could just take a short-cut a get there just in time. He ran through the ally, happily reminded of old times when he rushed to get into the academy. Unfortunately, his happiness was short-lived.

The man at the other end of the ally turned, pointing a gun at him. He had a long black trench coat and messy blond hair. He smiled.

"Listen, dude. I've got to get to a faerie right now! If I don't come, the girls'll get worried." Jaden said, trying hard to get a little sympathy.

"That's taken care of." He replied.

Yubel and Avion appeared on either side of the man and grabbed his arms. Jaden ran, right into a huge group of people wearing trench coats holding guns to his face.

"I guess that didn't work." Jaden muttered.

. . .

Alexis called on Jenna, "The rite of pass-"

There was a knock on the door. Alexis sighed.

"Sorry, Jenna. Just a moment." She addressed her, "Come in!"

"Ale-Mrs. Rhodes, there's a letter." Blare said.

"Can it wait?" Alexis asked.

"No, it can't!" Blare jogged down and handed a letter to her.

Alexis read, then stared, "We didn't invite him. And he didn't show up."

"No!" She clenched her skirt in her fist, "But we need to talk to Chancellor Shepard about this!"

"Yes. What if the adventures aren't over?" Alexis looked up, dropping the letter.

"Let's go!" Blare said.

"Young learners of the age," Alexis always called them that because they liked it, "Please, stay seated. I will return before class ends."

They stared as the two young women practically ran out the room.

After the door closed, one kid stood and grabbed the letter.

"Rocky," Jenna growled, "You're going to get in trouble!"

"Mrs. Rhodes is having problems. I want to help her, but I can't do that unless I know the problem." He replied, "It says 'Thanks for the invite, Lex. I'll come at eight on tuesday. And I think I'll take you up on you're offer and take an old room. Thanks, again! Your friend, Jay."

"Jaden Yuki!" Jenna asked, "Isn't she in love with him? And he didn't show? Men!"

"Wait!," Another kid stood.

"What, Kim?" Rocky asked, blowing a strand of blond hair out of his face.

"She said she didn't invite him!"

There was absolute silence.

Dog # 1; Well, I hope you liked that.

Cat; Never thought I'd see her pulled away in an ambulance.

GoldFish # 2; R&R! Bye!


	3. Third to Drown

FudoTwin17; Hey, there! I'm back!

GoldFish # 1; She's back! ***girly scream is heard from kitchen***

Cat; Don't tell me.

FudoTwin17; ***Walks in kitchen*** Hey! Just because everybody hates him doesn't mean you can stab him to death!

Dog # 1; But . . . .

Cat; She doesn't own Yu-gi-oh, Yu-gi-oh GX, or Yu-gi-oh 5D's.

FudoTwin17; Now I have to bring Sayer back to life! Just because I hate him doesn't mean I would let him die! I need him alive for another story!

Cat; Great, she's mad.

Chapter 3

Yusei let the cool salt water rush over his skin. He was at the docks. What happened . . . . He didn't want to think about it, but he did anyways.

Jack had snapped. And they fought. Then when Crow sided with Jack after everything, he walked to Aki's . . . .

Yusei closed his eyes and rubbed his bloody arm. Half of his sleeve was ripped away and all that was left of his glove was the pinky finger. It stung as salt made it's way into the unclothed wound.

She had been laughing, bullying a kid who might have been eight. He tried to stop her, but ended up getting hurt by her physic powers. At least he'd protected the kid.

Yusei's vision blurred as he stumbled backward. He knew he was losing blood, too much blood. Yusei smiled in a strange peace. He didn't care if he did die. His friends might remember what they fought for if he did. He stepped toward the water . . . then stepped back.

Suicide wasn't an option.

Something wasn't right. Since when would any of his friends hurt him? When would one of them ever intentionally wrong someone else? Unless . . . .

Unless it wasn't them.

He turned and began to run, but stopped short when a gun was placed to his head.

She had black hair and had on a black trench coat, "Yusei Fudo, You will come with me or be disposed of."

. . .

"Man, where's Yuse?" Crow asked.

"If I knew that we wouldn't be out looking for him!" Jack snapped.

"Guys, just look!" Aki quieted them.

There was absolute silence. They hadn't seen him since he had gone to sleep two nights ago.

"Check the docks. He goes there a lot to think." Crow told Aki, "I'll check the clock tower."

Aki nodded and turned on her D-wheel. She connected eyes with a little girl.

Her eyes widened in fear. Aki suddenly felt compelled to stop. She turned it off and jumped off willingly.

"Little girl, please wait! I want to ask you something!" She hurried over and kneeled down.

The little girl felt frozen, unable to move. She suddenly knew what it felt like to be a statue.

"Please! I need t-"

"You hurt him." She was instantly able to speak, "You hurt him when he tried to protect me. And you knew him."

"What? Who?" Aki felt her throat croak, knowing who it was, because of the word protect.

"He was the champ. Yusei Fudo."

Aki knew right then something was wrong. Aki knew he wasn't going to be found.

Yusei Fudo was gone.

FudoTwin17; That was a bit better a chapter. Sorry it was so short.

Cat; R&R!

GoldFish # 3; See ya!


	4. Warning Bells Ringing, Sad Eyes Singing

FudoTwin17; Hiya!

Dog # 1; You over did it.

FudoTwin17; Whatever.

Cat; She doesn't own Yu-gi-oh, Yu-gi-oh GX, or Yu-gi-oh 5D's.

FudoTwin17; If only.

Chapter 4

Aki walked quietly through the halls of the office to get to the cold room. She sighed.

After Yusei couldn't be found, she had to return to her job. A job in which she helped other physics through their experiences, a blessing she never had.

But after he couldn't be found, she felt everything crush down on her and steal her happiness away.

"Someone's late." A voice sang beside her. He was a fat man with dark hair and glasses. His mustache had sprinkled sticking to it. His suit didn't help his bulging stomach. In one hand was a donut and coffee in the other.

"Don't you have work to do?" She asked as she increased her pace.

"I should be asking you the same question." Mr. Newton replied.

Mr. Newton's sister had died at the hands of Sayer when they were young. He lost everything from the disappointment, his girl, his sister, his charm, his good looks, everything! He began working here. When Aki was hired, he knew that she'd worked for the Arcadia Movement and made it his personal mission to make her life a living nightmare.

"I am on my way, Mr. Newton." She replied hotly, "My client is waiting patiently, so if you would excuse me."

"Be careful, _Inzinski._ I always win. And soon, I'll get the proof I need that you aren't the kind, patient woman you pose as." With that he turned and walked away.

She sighed. That man had been relentless when Yu-he disappeared. He blamed her, and whenever she was alone, he pursued her for revenge against a man Aki prayed day and night was gone.

Aki was so lost in thought, she almost walked right past the room. She turned the door nob slowly and walked in, closing the door on her way in.

"Hello, Caitlynn. I'm sorry for the wait." Aki said, walking to her desk and sitting across from her client.

As soon as she met the girl's eyes, the words she was about to use caught in her throat.

The girl's eyes were coalbolt blue and lined by thick lashes. Her hair was black with gold streaks and fell limply to her waist. She wore a black and red shirt and miniskirt. Around that was a lifeless cloak with a rose broach. The hood was pulled down. She sat on the couch armrest, ready to spring at any moment. She was just like-

"Aki Inzinski, I'm not here to be helped by you, but to help you. Yusei Fudo is here, but you shouldn't pursue him. Otherwise-otherwise there will be serious consequences. Warn your friends. And, when you meet Alexis and Rebecca, warn them not to pursue Yugi Motou or Jaden Yuki. I hope you see him again." She sounded like she meant it and what was that spark in her eyes?

As swiftly as she'd changed the mood, she was walking out the door. Aki realized it too late.

"WAIT!" She shouted, unable to do anything else as she ran out the door into the empty hall.

_Yusei? _She thought before she collapsed.

. . .

As she came to, she realized she was laying on a bed. Jack and Crow were seated next to her.

"Jack! Crow!" She cried.

They jumped.

"Hush, Aki. It's okay!" She breathed as Crow stared at her intently.

"No. W-we need to talk!"

Jack sighed, giving in, "What about?"

He elbowed Crow when he was about to argue on her getting more rest and he sat, "Fine."

"Yusei."

FudoTwin17; Not bad, eh?

Cat; Sure. R&R. Bye.

GoldFish # 3; See ya later.


	5. Trouble

FudoTwin17; Hi! I'm back with a new chapter!

GoldFish # 3; We got the message.

Cat; She just got back from the dentist. Excuse her if she's cranky.

FudoTwin17; That's because they pulled my teeth out!

GoldFish # 2; Whatever. She doesn't own Yu-gi-oh.

FudoTwin17; Hey!

Chapter 5

Yusei glanced at Jaden, who was tossing an orange in the air and catching it. Yugi, Yusei noticed, was watching the orange. They all wore dark trench coats along with dark clothes.

Jaden paused as the door in the front of the apartment creaked open, "Finally back, Caitlynn?"

"Yeah."

"Where'd you go?" Yugi asked as she walked in and sat down next to Yusei.

She smiled tiredly, "Went for a walk."

Yusei glanced at her, knowing where she went. Being twins, he could read her every expression since they first were . . . brought together, forced on the same team by their kidnappers.

Caitlynn stood.

"Where are you going?" Jaden asked.

"Get a orange." Although that's what she said, Yusei knew she was trying to avoid him. She was guilty . . . .

Yusei stiffly stood. He followed her into the other room and watched her grab an orange and close her eyes as she leaned on the small table

"Where did you go?" He demanded.

"Nowhere, really." She said, still not turning around.

Yusei felt a shiver slide down his back. It happened whenever her physic powers reacted to her. It almost reminded him of . . . .

He staggered back, losing his cool for the first time in so long, "You didn't."

She was quiet, but set down the orange.

"Oh, please tell me you didn't!"

When there was no reply, Yusei turned and slammed his fist on the wall. The thud was enough for Jaden and Yugi to rush in.

"What happened?" Yugi asked, seeing the horror on Yusei's face and guilt on her's.

"She's spoken with A-Aki."

There was silence.

Caitlynn staggered backward and hit the wall. As she slid down the wall, she held one hand to her chest.

"Caitlynn!" Yusei grabbed her shoulders, "We'll talk later! Did you take your medication this morning?"

"N-no." She whispered.

"Jaden-"

"Already on it." He said seriously as he grabbed a jar of pills and ran them over.

She looked at him uncomfortably, almost doubled over in pain. Yusei grabbed two pills and pushed them into her mouth. She swallowed and sighed.

"How do you feel now?" Yugi asked.

There was pause, then a tired reply, "Like I just swallowed two bricks."

They scowled. Yusei picked her up and walked her into another room with two beds. He set her in one and pulled a blanket over her. He closed the blinds shut to block out sunlight and shut off the light.

"Night, Caitlynn." He said as he shut the door.

He sighed as he walked back to the others. Caitlynn had been born with heart problems. She had somehow survived the zero-reverse and lived in Domino as a orphan on the streets. Then she found friends, but soon, she was recruited by the Order of the Dark Moon, a group on it's way to taking over all governments. After a while, they recruited Yugi,Jaden, and Yusei. As soon as Yusei gave up ever returning to his friends, her heart problems returned. The Order doesn't take care of it's members, either. It was hard to survive when you survived on the streets.

"We're in trouble." Yusei said.

"If she said what I think she said, we will have to avoid our friends and . . . possibly deal with them." Jaden said, making Yugi pale considerably.

"If we have to, we will. We haven't got any control here." Yugi whispered.

New Domino became cooler that night as the temperature chilled all who walked through the night.


	6. Red as Blood, Crimson as Lipstick

FudoTwin17: Hi, long time no see!

Cat: Grrrrrrrrr.

FudoTwin17: Anyways, um, I don't own any of the Yu-gi-oh's.

GoldFish # 1: Oh, by the way, Little 3 is . . . DEAD!

FudoTwin17: Um . . . here's the chapter.

Chapter 6

Alexis woke up late that morning. It was her day off so she could afford to be late. She spent it like she spent most of her days off.

When she woke up, she just laid there, letting the tears fall. Then, after a few hours of remembering _him_, she would get up and get dressed.

As she dug through her closet, about to grab a casual blue dress, she saw it. There, in the back of her closet was a little red dress. It was too much like the red slifer jacket. She shakily picked it up.

She slid down the wall, holding the dress so tight her knuckles turned white.

She quickly released it, realizing she was wrinkling it. She smoothed it out and glanced at the mirror, debating whether or not she should put it on. In the end, there was no argument.

She slipped it on. The fabric was smooth and silky. The red color stood out against her skin. It was completely one color with spaghetti straps and was as short as one of the uniforms.

Looking in the mirror, she felt tears spill over.

It was right then that she heard a knock at the door.

She whipped away her tears, "Coming!"

She knew her eyes were red and puffy, but Alexis decided to answer the door anyways.

"Hey!" Blare said after the door was open, "I hope you don't mind, but some students here wanted to come with me."

"Y-yeah, it's fine."

Walking in behind Blare were three kids.

The first was a Ra yellow, Kim. She was a bit tall for her age, but still not the tallest of the group. Her hair was black and a bit messy. She wore her outfit Tyrano did, but the shorts were more feminine. Her eyes were a sharp blue.

The next was a slifer red named Jeffrey, but went by rocky. He had the sleeves cut off and had the jacket open. His hair was bleach blond and had a few other artificial colors running through it. His eyes were a light brown.

Then, there was another girl, a slifer red named Jenna. She wore the jacket with black instead of white and wore shorts instead of a skirt. Her skin was a bit darker and her hair hung in braids. Her dark eyes sparkled.

Alexis motioned them to some seats in the first room.

"Wow, Mrs. Rhodes, you look awesome! What's the special occasion?" Jenna asked.

"Oh, uh, thank you. But there isn't a special occasion." Alexis smiled.

The three enjoyed coming out to see Alexis. They were her favorite students, after all!

"Oh." She said a little embarrassed.

"Are you okay?" Rocky asked.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." They all stared at her suspiciously.

There was silence.

"Uh, I'll be right back." Alexis said, standing.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She didn't look behind her, afraid of what she'd see. She walked quickly and calmly to the bathroom, but as soon as she got there, she screamed.

Rocky, being the fastest, grabbed her shoulders, "Mrs. Rhodes!"

She pointed at the mirror. In bright red lipstick, lipstick that didn't belong to Alexis, read 'I'm sorry.'

"Woah." Someone behind Alexis said, but Alexis wasn't focused on that.

She pushed passed them and stared at the shadows. The long windows at the end of the hall were open and someone in a dark trench coat had one foot on the seal.

"Jaden!" Alexis yelled.

He turned back. Alexis's face fell. He wasn't her Jaden, not the fun, happy one. He was dark, hopeless.

"No way. That's Jaden Yuki?"

"He doesn't look like I imagined him."

"Why is he here?"

"J-Jaden?"

Alexis started running. Nothing mattered but getting to him. She tripped and felt the wood floor scrape against her skin, but she didn't care.

Before he could jump, she grabbed him around the waist. She found her sobbing muffled by his shirt. He stood there for a second quietly, but his eyes were full of more emotion than they had been during his last three years missing.

He put his hands on her back and whispered, "I'm sorry, Lex."

That was the last thing she heard before he knocked her out.

He picked her up bridal style and walked her into the room they first were in. He laid her on the couch.

"You can't just do that!" Blare yelled at him.

"Yeah! Quit messing with Mrs. Rhodes!" Rocky ran in.

"You seem like a good young man." Jaden said to Rocky, "Do you mind keeping Alexis away? It's not safe."

"Since when has that mattered?" Blare cried, "How many times did she do things for you? When are you going to wake up and realize that she always got hurt?"

"Blare, it's been a while. You're all grown up." He said, crossing the room and ruffling her hair.

"Answer me!" She yelled, pushing him away.

"Fine. I don't want her to get involved with these people. They're dangerous. And, you'll stay away from them as well."

"Why? We've stopped more th-"

"No." Blare froze, "And if you do, they'll dispose of all people who are unnecessary."

"Then why are you involved with them?" Kim asked.

"Because I had no choice. And, just so you know, this time I'm on the wrong side."

"Don't you realize how much you're hurting them? Everyone you fought for, you're hurting. Why?" Jenna said calmly, making it that much more serious.

"It's the only way I can protect them." He started to walk away.

"Hey! You can't just-" A firm hand gripped Blare's wrist before she would've attacked Jaden.

"Jaden, we're going." Yugi said, still holding Blare's wrist.

"Okay."

"What!" Rocky yelled, "You-you can't!

"K-king of games!" Blare gasped.

"As in Yugi Motou?" Jenna asked, shocked.

"Well, I don't care who you are!" Kim yelled, "You're not taking Jaden after Mrs. Rhodes just got him back."

"Unfortunately, that's none of our choices." A voice said behind her.

Yusei stepped into the light.

"Y-Yusei Fu-udo!" Jenna gasped.

"But-"

"Sorry, Blare, but we can't-"

"Jaden," Yusei interrupted, "You've let enough information fly. We shouldn't even be talking to them: All it does is hurt them."

"I-I know, but . . . I had to apologize." He looked away to hide his eyes, "Let's get out of here."

FudoTwin17: I hope that makes up for my silence. Uh, I'm tired. Bye.

Cat: Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

FudoTwin17: Did you know cats can growl? Well, I'm dog sitting my friend's dog and he's been moody all day because of it. Oh, and my sister got two rats. One of them died though-

LittleVamp: WHY!

LeoThe Rat: R&R! Bye!


	7. Wrong Reflection

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys! I haven't updated this story in a while, so I'm updating!

Leo The Rat: Something like that.

FudoTwin17: Yep! And we had another family death. Goldfish # 2 has passed.

Goldfish # 1: Why?

FudoTwin17: Yeah. Um, I also have a poll since some of my other stories are ending. Please vote!

Harley: They're all Young Justice and Batman Beyond stuff.

FudoTwin17: Harley! Go back to Gotham!

Harley: But I don't want to!

FudoTwin17: Fine. Do the disclaimer!

Harley: Oh, all right. She ain't anywhere near able to own Yu-gi-oh, that GX one, or that five dragons one one.

FudoTwin17: Hilarious, Harley. Now, onto my next victim!

Chapter 7

Rebecca stared at herself in the mirror, trying to find the happy little girl she had been when she still had Yugi. Her hair went to her hips, which were more defined now than they had been when she was younger. She now wore contacts to avoid any problems her glasses had previously caused her. She frowned. Everyone had to change sometime or another.

She turned and started walking to the hospital. Her grandfather had had a minor heart attack. She truthfully wondered how a heart attack could be minor. He was supposed to be getting out the next day. Until then, she had to catch him up on what had been going on with his research considering she was part of his team . . . and his daughter.

She shrugged, pulling her laptop case on her shoulder and walking out.

The walk to the hospital was too long a time for her to think. She hated every moment of it.

But, eventually, she made it to the hospital, then to his room.

He was asleep, his heart monitor occasionally bleeping. She sighed, knowing better than to wake him. After she sat down and got to work on stuff she hadn't quite finished up yet. Eventually, she finished all her work and some stuff she hadn't even planned on starting yet.

Being as bouncy as ever, she couldn't stand the thought of staying there for one more minute. She jumped up, ready to grab some hot co-co.

So, leaving behind all her stuff, she slipped out the door quietly and into the hall to grab her drink. After she had retrieved it, she started back. It wasn't long before she passed the front desk where abnormal gossip was taking place.

"Yeah! It's the craziest thing! Late last night, the girl Aki Inzinski, was here! She's here now, too! Room 63." One woman said as she took a break from filing her papers.

"Really? Wasn't she with Yusei Fudo before he vanished?" The other one taking a short break asked.

"Yes. She came in here unconscious from her job, and when she woke up, I was bringing her some food and medication when-"

"She was awake?"

"Yes! I was surprised. She claimed that Yusei was back! Yusei Fudo!"

"Oh, that's a shocker! But guess what just happened today."

"What?"

"Alexis Rhodes came in when someone knocked her out and she didn't wake up for a while. The police are interviewing her friends right now! She's in room 56 at this very moment!"

"Really? Wasn't she with that Judith fellow?"

"It was Jaden! And anyways, they claim Jaden is back, too!"

"That's crazy!"

"Now all they need is the king of games! Then the set will be complete!"

"Not quite. We'd need the girl. Hm, what's her name? Taya?"

"No, you've got the wrong girl. It was Rebecca something or other. Horgay?"

Rebecca suddenly found something to do as the two girls continued talking and looking around. She knew what she had to do.

Rooms 56 and 63. Most of the time it payed to have a photographic memory. She turned the corner.

56 was first.

It was time to pay an Alexis Rhodes a visit.

FudoTwin17: I hope it wasn't too crappy.

Cat: If it was they wouldn't tell you.

FudoTwin17: Yeah, I guess you're right.

Dog # 1: R&R! Bye!


	8. Cruelty

Chapter 8

Sitting next to Alexis Rhodes was hard. It was like sitting next to a sleeping rabbit wanting to hug it so badly, but not being able to lest it woke and ran. So, she did what she had to do. Under her watchful gaze, she stared down the other girl, waiting for her to wake up, needing her to wake up.

But it seem like a minute was an hour and a hour was a century. It would be thousands of years before she woke, but in Rebecca's mind, it didn't matter.

Anything for finding out what happened to her Yugi. She thought about him so much it hurt. She used to hate how much it mattered to her when he first disappeared, but . . . it just didn't matter any more that it hurt. In her mind, there was a point where pain didn't matter anymore, and she was at that point.

Alexis's hand twitched.

Rebecca was sent into full alert.

She knew when she came that Alexis would probably be out, but Aki had people with her, so she couldn't risk it. She didn't want to meet anyone else.

People who were friends would look down at her with pity, believing they knew what she was going through. But the problem with that was that they didn't know.

They didn't know what it was like to have the perfect other half of their soul ripped out. They didn't know the constant reminders of their closest friend. They didn't feel how she did about the other. They didn't know what it was like to have the closest one, their shining knight in armor, stolen from them. No matter what they did, they would never understand.

It wasn't fair.

Alexis turned her head, "Jay?"

"No." Rebecca whispered, "My name is Rebecca Hopkins. I was . . . close to Yugi Motou."

Alexis stared at her, her breath hitching when she managed to process the information. "He's back."

"Who?" Rebecca asked, afraid she knew the answer, or at least her answer.

"Him, them, all of them." Alexis replied, sounding as if she had lost her mind. In a sense, she did loose a part of it. Her peace. "Your Yugi Motou is back. My Jaden Yuki. Her Yusei Fudo."

Rebecca's breath caught again. Alexis grabbed her hand, desperately in need of some type of support she hadn't had since the last time she had seen the Jaden she knew. "Please stay. I need someone who understands."

With the stunning news flashing through her mind, Rebecca was stunned. She didn't know what to say. She had looked for someone who understood for a long time. Now, she had one, but . . . maybe . . . .

She grabbed their intertwining hands with her free one, having sat down her hot co-co by the bed. "Listen, I need to get something. I promise I'll be right back."

"Okay." Alexis replied in a small voice. She bit her lip, laying back. Her eyes stung.

Rebecca slipped out, half-ran to her father's room, grabbed her stuff, and headed back.

"A-Alexis," She started with an unstable voice, "can you tell me what happened? I think we can figure something out. Maybe we can get them back."

Alexis nodded. "I woke up, for some reason wearing this dress." Her voice was shaky, but she knew she sent the message across. The dress reminded her of Jaden. Rebecca couldn't count the amount of times she had done the exact same thing. "Um, my friend and three of my top students showed up at my home, where I had gone for the weekend. After small talk, I headed to the bathroom. I was uncomfortable. I felt like I should clean up a bit. I didn't look back when going through my hallway, and ended up at the bathroom, where everything started." She took a shaky breath. "On the mirror, in lipstick that wasn't mine-"

"A lipstick message that wasn't in your lipstick?" Rebecca interrupted.

"Yes. It was too dark." Rebecca typed the information down. It was too important to be left out.

"Um, the message said 'I'm Sorry'. I screamed." Rebecca typed down the message. "Uh, everyone ran in and I saw him at the end of the hall. He was about to jump out my window, probably how he got in." She typed it down. "I stopped him, and he told me he-he was sorry. Then, he tried to knock me out. In a way, I was, but at the same time I wasn't. He talked to the kids and my friends for a while, saying 'it wasn't safe'."

"Unsafe? How unsafe?" Rebecca couldn't help but ask. She had never seen anything that was too dangerous for her-for Yugi. It wasn't natural.

"Unsafe enough for Jaden to worry." She replied, her voice shaking.

"Go on." Rebecca gently encouraged. It wasn't cemented enough to get to her yet. She hadn't seen him-them.

"He said that he had no choice. He was on the wrong side this time." Rebecca typed it down. "He claimed that the only way for him to protect us was to be on the wrong side." Rebecca typed it down. "My friend, she was yelling at him when she gasped. She said 'king of games'." Rebecca forced her hands to type. It was getting harder.

"A-as in Yugi Motou?"

"Yes." Alexis replied, blinking away tears, "They were arguing when Yusei Fudo spoke, claiming that it wasn't any of their choices what they did." Rebecca typed it down. "Jaden started to say that they couldn't do something, but he was interrupted." Rebecca once again typed. "Yusei claimed they let more than enough information fly and that-that talking to us only hurt us. Jaden said he had to apologize and they were gone. I-I don't remember anything else after that." Rebecca nodded.

Then, the weirdest feeling crept upon her. It was like she could feel someone staring at her. She blinked, looking around.

She sighed, turning back to Alexis.

She wished someone was staring at her. Only one person, though.

. . .

And her wish came true.

High on the balcony right across the street stood Yugi Motou, peering inside the open window of the hospital. He sighed, watching the one person he really missed.

Rebecca subconsciously rubbed at her eyes which were now bare. He missed the glasses, but it was alright with him. The change was a good one.

After all, it wasn't like he looked the same. He had filled out a bit. He was still short to his utter dismay, but he was still taller than Rebecca. His eyes, although they had a bit of the same shape, were no longer innocent as they once were. His style, however, never changed, nor in his opinion should it have. He sighed.

He missed her so much.

He watched as she stiffened as the other girl told her something, most likely about him. Thankfully, the stiffness and obvious pain was short lived.

He would be content just staring if it weren't for knowing the feeling of being close to her. He wished he could be over there, but he knew he couldn't. So, he just sighed, and continued to watch. He wouldn't get the chance to see her for much longer.

Rebecca stiffened, staring around her. It was almost as if she had super-senses and knew when he was close enough to watch her closely.

For a moment, she stared right at him, sending a warm chill up his spine, but she looked away, knowing that he wasn't there. If only . . . .

He shook all thoughts from his head. He didn't need to think like that. Not when everything would just be ripped away from him again. Life was cruel. Love was crueler.

FudoTwin17: Hope you liked that! Because it took forever. Oh, and I no owny any Yu-gi-oh's.

Cat: Poor you.

Dog # 1: Yep, poor you.

FudoTwin17: OH! And my updating should be getting more frequent. I've set up a-

Goldfish # 1: Wait for it.

FudoTwin17: Calender! Aren't you happy?

Cat: Yep. Bye! Review!


	9. Back There Again

FudoTwin17: Hey! I'm back!

Goldfish # 1: Boo!

FudoTwin17: I advise shutting up before my cat shuts you up instead.

Cat: Meow!

FudoTwin17: Yeah. I no owny Yu-gi-oh's.

Chapter 9

Rebecca sighed, tiredly. She had been with Alexis on her limited amount of sleep and, after Alexis fell back to sleep, her friends came in. Rebecca, doing her best to avoid a conversation, managed to get out and head in the direction of room 63, Aki's room.

She hid by the door frame, listening to the sound of voices.

"Don't say that!" An angry feminine voice growled, "It's no prank, or whatever you think it is! It's actually happening! Yusei is back, along with-"

"Aki, you're just going to find out it was fake and get hurt. Then, where will you be? Right back to the first day that you believed he would never come back." This was a male voice, one she sensed was just as hurt, but unwilling to take a chance and get hurt again.

"But Jack," Aki began again, sounding a bit desperate, "I know you don't want-"

"I don't want!" Jack's voice boomed angrily, "I want to find him just as much as you do! But I'm not going to let myself get even more hurt, because some stupid girl with a resemblance to Yusei turned up in your room, claiming that they were back and that we shouldn't look for them!" He sounded extremely hurt.

There was a moment of silence in which she knew that Aki probably was fighting tears. She knew, because she had been over this before.

Then, she could hear it. Jack realizing what he had said and leaving. "I'm going to go get more tea."

As he slipped out the door, Rebecca jumped back. She didn't want to be noticed. Thankfully, she wasn't. She walked in and took a seat where she was almost certain that Jack had been sitting.

Aki took a moment to lay there. Her eyes were puffy and her hands shook. But she still had the strength to boldly growl, "Who are you and what do you want?"

Looking Aki in the eyes, she replied, "My name is Rebecca Hopkins. I was a close friend of Yugi Motou's. I heard-I heard that they-he was back. I needed to be sure."

Aki melted almost instantly. She sighed, blinking away new found tears from the relief of finding someone who believed her. She turned her head tiredly to look at Rebecca. "You believe me?"

"Yes," She replied, wishing that she didn't. "And I-I'm going to find them. They left behind clues somewhere, and I'm determined to find them. Can-Can you tell me your story?"

Aki sighed. Rebecca could see in her eyes that she had told the story many times with deaf ears the only ones listening. She must have been tired of telling the same story to so many people who didn't think that it was really happening. Rebecca could only imagine the stress that that would put her through. Aki nodded.

"It was a normal day, and I was walking to my office. I council physics, and a girl that I only knew as Caitlynn was waiting for me. I was late." She sighed. "When I walked in, imagine how surprised I was when I saw a female version of Yusei Fudo waiting for me."

Rebecca paused, "Was she wearing lipstick?"

Aki blinked. "Uh, yeah. It was kind of dark, but somewhat bright as well."

Rebecca nodded, "Okay. Keep going."

"She told me that Yusei Fudo, Jaden Yuki, and Yugi Motou were back and that I shouldn't go after them." She blinked away tears. "She also told me to tell you and-and Alexis Rhodes."

Rebecca smiled at her, finishing up her typing. "Thank you. I was just in the other room with Alexis Rhodes, and she saw them. All of them. They really are-"

"WHO ON EARTH ARE YOU?" Boomed a familiar voice. Jack was back.

Behind him came two males and a girl.

_Crap, _Rebecca thought, _we're screwed._

FudoTwin17: Yay!

Cat: She's probably getting tired, so she's going to leave now.

FudoTwin17: Yeah. ***frowns* **Oh, and sorry it's so short, but it just felt right to end it there. Sorry. You'll get the rest latter.

Cat: Bye! Review!


	10. Fool Me

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. Um, I'm sorry it's been so long, but I'm not feeling too well, but I really wanted to update for you guys. Sorry if it's crappy. I just don't feel well. So, I don't own any series of Yu-gi-oh.

Chapter 9

Rebecca began to back up. They shocked and startled her. She backed up, feeling their curious gazes on her.

"It's okay." Aki interrupted. "She's a friend."

Rebecca blinked at the same time that Aki's friends did. She cleared her throat, "Uh, hi." Oh, how she wished she hadn't been there right then. But it would all be worth it. That's what she kept telling herself. That's what she needed to be true.

The first male looked at Aki as if she were crazy, but sighed and introduced himself. "I'm Jack Atlas."

Another male smiled more kindly. "I'm Crow. Nice to meet you."

The last male, who was muscular and probably around collage age gave an obnoxious grin. "Hi! I'm Leo!"

The girl, who looked just as young and very much like the younger male gave a more shy smile. Due to her looks and such, Rebecca estimated her to be his sister, possibly twin. "Hi. I'm Luna."

Rebecca smiled. "Hi. It's Rebecca Hopkins-"

Jack's eyes widened. "You!" He hurried forward, grabbing her by her wrists. "What is wrong with you!"

"Jack!" Those behind him yelled.

"You think that talking to her about this-this prank will do any good! This stupid-"

"It's not a prank!" Rebecca interrupted, unable to hold back icy tears as they ran down her cheeks. "Alexis saw them! All of them! Jaden! And-And Yusei! And . . . and Yug-Yugi." She found herself sobbing.

Jack was at a loss for words. He couldn't say anything. Everyone was in shock.

"They . . . they saw them?" Crow whispered.

"Maybe that means that we can get them back!" Exclaimed Leo excitedly.

Luna looked at him sadly. "Maybe."

"We've always won against the bad side!" Leo said.

Without looking back, Rebecca stated her case darkly. "Yusei said not to come for him."

That caught everyone off guard. Jack found his sudden hopes crushed and then come back even stronger. "What? Something is wrong with him if he thinks we'll abandon him! We-"

"All-all of them said that."

That seemed to freeze them. Crow stepped forward in refusal. "No way! We've done everything! We aren't going to ignore this! Especially if they think that it's impossible."

Luna frowned. "How?"

"By fighting back!" Yelled an unexpected voice from behind them as the door was flung into the wall. There, behind them in a hospital gown was someone else who understood their positions perfectly. Alexis Rhodes. "What is wrong with you? You're not going to give up because they told you to, are you? If you are, you are all idiots."

"Alexis!" Shouted a voice at the same time three still young voices yelled "Ms. Rhodes!"

Then, a woman around Alexis's age walked in with young high school kids behind her. Everyone paled. They were the same age as them when everything began, when this was decided to happen. This was bad.

"What is wrong with you? We could get them back!" She seemed to turn on Jack. "And you need to shut up about-"

"What?" Growled Jack.

"Yusei, Jaden! They're back! Yugi, too!"

. . .

Yugi sighed after having seen and heard everything from his balcony across the street. He cursed under his breath before turning sharply and strutting into the main room where Yusei and Jaden sat. With one sentence, they were immediately paying attention.

"We've got a problem."

"What?" Jaden asked, his eyes narrowed as he sat very still.

"They aren't going to let us go." Yugi replied. "And, they've teamed up."

Yusei sent a silent curse in Yugi's direction. "How?"

"Many of them were in the hospital. And Rebecca-" He flinched, "somehow figured that out and got them all together. They won't stand down."

Jaden frowned. This was more than bad. "It had to be this close?"

Yusei frowned in tragic agreement. "We'll just have to go through with the mission. They'll stand in our way, but we have no choice. We have to finish this."

The other two nodded.

This was bad.

FudoTwin17: Yeah, pretty bad, I know. I hope it was good enough. I just feel bad. Yeah, Bye. I'm sorry for it's crappyness.


	11. When the Winds Rage

FudoTwin17; Hi! Please, my adoring fans, don't hate me for this chapter.

Goldfish # 2; Why would they hate you more than they do now?

Cat; Because she's messing with Jack, Aki, and is bringing back an old pawn to mess with the viewers.

GoldFish # 3; Is she bringing Dan back?

Dog # 1; Dan?

GoldFish # 3; He's always a bad character. I think he's in another one of her stories.

FudoTwin17; I don't o-own Yu-gi-oh, Yu-gi-oh GX, o-or Yu-gi-oh 5D's. ***begins to cry***

Chapter 2

Rebecca bit her lip, her cell clenched in her hand. After telling her grandfather, she had to step out to make a call. Her problem? She had to call the original gang. She sighed a sad sigh.

After Yugi's disappearance, they basically split up. Seto Kaiba buried himself in his work. Joey Wheeler, Taya, and Tristan just fell apart. After what they heard happened, they couldn't look at each other, blaming themselves. Bakura drew into himself after a few attempts at getting them back together. Mokuba couldn't watch his friends fall apart like that, so he got into his work. And, even though none of them could let go enough to leave New Domino, they never talked to one another again.

Her hand trembled. She hadn't spoken to them for years. How could she now to bring up their worst nightmares? It was easier for her to do it with the others only because they weren't her friends. She didn't know them. It was easier to tell them her findings.

But that didn't mean it hurt any less.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button and put the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Came a half-asleep voice. Joey Wheeler. He was the kid's first and best friend. He deserved to know first.

"Joey?" She asked skeptically.

"T-Taya?" He gasped.

"No." She took another deep breath. "It's Rebecca."

"Rebecca?" He repeated. She could see his eyebrows furrow despite him not being physically in front of her. She bit her lip. "It's been a while. Why'd you call?"

She closed her eyes, bitting her left hand's nails. "Something's happened. I'm getting-I'm getting the gang back together."

She could hear the startled gasp. She was amazed he was still holding the phone. Maybe he just couldn't put it down, though. "Getting back the gang? No way. After what happened to Yug? No. We can't-I can't-"

"You have no choice." She was startled at how businesslike her voice was, as if she had turned off all emotion. "Yugi's back. You're not letting him go this time. Meet me at the hospital-"

She was cut off the the beeps stating that the phone had been disconnected. She knew immediately that he had finally dropped the phone. But she was sure that he would be coming. As would everyone else.

. . .

Out in front of the hospital, the group stood. The two groups that Jaden and Yusei belonged to and Rebecca. Her grandfather was supposed to be stuck in the hospital for another week. Her hands were clenching the strap of her bag so hard that they were turning white.

It was right then that a group, uncertain and a few trembling, walked toward them.

Rebecca searched the group. No, Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba were gone. She guessed they were too consumed by work to come. That wasn't much of a surprise to her. But she did think that getting Yugi back would be more than enough to bring them out of that habit.

Or not.

When they made it over, they seemed to shift uncomfortably. All but Joey, who looked like he was suffering from a sudden onslaught of some drug. His hands shook and his gaze was less glazed over. He looked like he was going to just pass out any moment. But Rebecca said nothing.

Most of the group looked the exact same way. After all, most of them gave up their friends for dead. They'd quit looking. They'd given up.

"You said you could get back Yugi?" Taya asked timidly. She sort of shut down after Yugi disappeared. He was all she had left of Atem, whom they all could see she loved. And losing Yugi was like losing the last bit of him. It hurt.

"Yes." Rebecca replied. "We could get them all back." She explained the situation, fresh tears glistening in more than her eyes when she finished.

Joey nodded. He still seemed out of it. "Any place we can talk about what we're going to do? We can't stay in the middle of traffic all day." He pointed out the people moving around the rather large group.

They all looked at one another.

Thankfully, it was right then that the winds began to rage. Looking up to sky from the extreme winds, they saw a helicopter begin to lower itself down and drop a rope-ladder right into Joey's hands. He yelped. Looking up, they saw none other than the one and only Seto Kaiba. His low growl pierced through the rushing winds as if they never had been there.

"Get in."

FudoTwin17: Yay! I feel happy. Now, I'm tired. Bye!

Cat: See ya!

Dog # 1: Don't forget to review!

Dog # 3: Can I have some spaghetti?

FudoTwin17: NO! GO AWAY!


	12. Twisted Teams and Bloody Missions

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. ***dodges tomato* **Okay! I get it! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been a little caught up in life. Not only that, but since I last updated all my goldfishes have passed away. ***starts crying***

Cat: And she didn't even let me eat them.

FudoTwin17: ***in full out tears***

Dog # 1: Uh, here's the chapter. Um, she doesn't own anything. At all. She asked her dad to buy it once, but he said no. On to the chapter.

Chapter 12

It had been fourteen minutes of absolute silence. Since then, they had arrived at the Kaiba mansion and were standing around in his office. It was hard to say anything, especially seeing how much the Kaibas had changed.

Seto, who was staring cautiously around as if he had lost the ability to speak, had both changed and stayed the same. His taste in expensive, somewhat threatening suits had stayed all too similar. However, he seemed to take a bit more care of them. Maybe he lost his taste for jumping out of helicopters or doing stupid, dangerous stunts that he more than enjoyed when Yugi Motou had been around to watch. As well as that, his eyes seemed darker and his lips were in a normal scowl that he now wore.

His brother seemed a bit different. The younger boy had grown and was probably now taller than Yugi. His long, messy, black hair was now combed down and tied into a pony tail. He had grown into a slim, fine, and tall body-type, not unlike his brother. His eyes, though, still glinted with kindness. He wore a tight-fitting, dark blue and red-orange stripped, long sleeved shirt. He wore jeans as well with a spiked belt that his brother always rolled his eyes at. Mokuba's face however didn't show the kind of loneliness and unhappiness that came with guilt and unhealthiness, though.

Everyone seemed to be lost in thought, but those who knew Seto knew he was burning with the readiness to converse on the subject.

So, Rebecca started talking. It was in her nature after all. She was raised by her grandfather. "I have some information that I've put together." Everyone's eyes darted to her. "It's not much, but-"

"Just tell us." Seto restlessly commanded. Joey seemed to be considering doing something rude, but the point blank shock of even being there was enough to stop him.

"I believe that the four of them, Yusei, Jaden, and Yugi, included are here in Domino for something related to who they are working for." At her pause, some of the uninformed spoke.

"What?" Joey asked.

"Four? There're only three." Seto growled.

"Who are they working for?"

"What do you mean?"

"They have-"

Mokuba slammed his fist on the oak table, resulting in a loud shock that interrupted all of them. His eyes flitted to Rebecca respectively and smiled. "Go on."

"The fourth is a girl. I believe she is somehow related to Yusei. Either way, the four of them are together somewhere in the city laying low, trying to avoid us." Rebecca tried again, only to be interrupted once again.

"Why are they trying to avoid us?" Taya asked, confusion and hurt in her voice.

"I'm not entirely sure." Rebecca stated, seeing looks thrown her way. "But I do know that somehow, they are being forced to work on the wrong side."

"Is the girl part of that? You know, forcing them?" Jenna asked.

"I don't think so." Rebecca replied. "From what I've heard from Aki," and from what she saw when hacking the cameras, "she seems like she too is being forced into it. Anyway, I believe that the boys are feeling somewhat responsible and uncomfortable and, from all of their lack of staying properly hidden, I think that the ones they are working for aren't keeping an eye on them." Her eyes darted to Alexis.

"Why not?" Tristan asked.

"From what I've heard, and I'm not entirely sure, I believe that they have something on them, something that allows them to keep control without being ever-present."

"Blackmail!" Exclaimed Jack viciously.

"Exactly." Rebecca stated. "And I think that there is a specific reason that they are here. It has some significance."

"Like what?" Luna asked nervously.

"I don't know, but it's got to be big. Very big." Her eyes darted to Seto before going back. "As well as that, I think that the blackmail has something to do with us."

"Why?" Leo asked flamboyantly.

"Because of what the boys kept saying when they were in Alexis's house. They kept saying as little as they could and said they were keeping us safe. They stressed that we couldn't save them. They must be worried more about us than themselves. This has to mean that somehow each one of us is in some sort of danger." Rebecca explained.

Seto's eyes narrowed almost in disbelief, but to their shock, he nodded. "It sounds plausible. But I don't know how we can be in danger every day and not know it."

Rebecca's lips pursed before she began. "If this person has the boys under their control, then they probably have more people under their control as well. Depending on how big these people are, they could have people around us every moment."

"What? How?" Exclaimed Blare.

"Could be anyone." Her eyes went to the kids and school workers. "A perfect or bad student." Her eyes followed Joey, Taya, Tristan, and Bakura. "A neighbor or friend." Her eyes went to Aki. "A coworker." Seto and Mokuba. "A guard or hired hand you thought you trusted." Jack and Crow. "A friend or worker at a place you always go." Finally, they stilled on Luna and Leo. "A friend or teacher."

Despite it all, each and everyone felt that drop in their stomachs. They knew deep down that it was true.

And, despite her fear, Alexis knew that she needed to contact the others. They needed all the help they could get and, as well as that, they were in danger.

This group or person would pay. No one messed with her friends and got away with it.

. . .

Yugi pointed the gun at the man's head. "I'll say it again. Where. Is. John Bently?"

The man, weak at the knees with terror, squeaked, "Please, I-I don't know! Honest! I don't ev-even know no Joh-John Ben-" Yugi cocked the gun, sending the man into hysterics. "Okay! Okay. John just left. Said he was gonna go home, but," The man's voice cracked in fear. "he-he wasn't. Got a girl, see? He's headed over to her place." Under Yugi's cold stare, the man shivered.

"Fine. But if you're lying, I will be back." Yugi walked away.

The man fell on his knees behind him with relief. He really thought he was a goner that time!

Yugi turned the corner, blocking the man's view of him. "Guys?" He said into his wrist watch which opened to reveal a screen. Yusei appeared then disappeared as Jaden came online. "Guys on his way to his girlfriends. Only left a few minutes ago, so I'm going to guess he's on Krick Elm Street by now."

"Got it." Yusei appeared again.

"We'll block him and wait for you to appear to engage." Jaden added, appearing on screen again.

Yugi nodded.

They had a mission to complete.

FudoTwin17: Okay. Once again, I'm sorry. I hope that made up for things.

Cat: Yep.

Dog # 1: Goodbye.

Cat: And don't forget to review!


	13. Ghosts Three

FudoTwin17: Yo, guys! Sorry it's been so long, but a lot of stuff has happened.

Cat: For instance . . . .

FudoTwin17: Well, my school musical stuff happened, we had a flood, nine inches where flooding doesn't happen much, our hot water is gone, and as well as that, I have school. So . . . here we are.

Dog # 1: A lot.

FudoTwin17: I know.

Cat: She wished she owned the crazy stuff in this chapter.

Chapter 13

Luna just wanted to die. That simple. She had wanted to walk home, despite the inclining crime rates in Domino. The truth was, though, that she would rather be mugged than be stuck in that stuffy car with all her memories.

The sound of long lost laughter filled her ears like the whistle of the wind through the great pines as she continued walking sadly.

It had been so long ago. Since then, she had grown. A college student. She wore her hair long now and had gained some height. Boys had begun to notice her much more as well. She wore a blue skirt, the tall socks, the button up, and the high heels just like she used to, but she had changed. So much.

She would admit that once she had a little bit of a crush on Yusei when she was little. He was just that figure for her. He was protective, clearheaded, handsome, but he served more of a father figure to her. After all, her father was never around. And Yusei fit the bill perfectly, even risking his life for her. She had a feeling that her own father would never do that. It was sad.

Then he was gone. Gone with the wind to never return to the overpopulated city.

As if to interrupt her saddened thoughts, her phone buzzed. Pulling it out of her sock, where she had very comfortably stashed it, she glanced at the screen. It was Sly.

He had grown, too. She remembered how little he had been when they were younger and she had paid him no attention, but now he was strong and had a certain way of smiling that was definitely sly. After Yusei's disappearance, she had been extremely down. Not even Leo could help her, but Sly started talking to her, sitting with her, and just plain being there. They were together after a year and they had stayed together ever since.

_What's up? _He had typed.

_Just made it 2 Krik Elm St. _She began, but stopped typing.

She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him. What if he thought she was delusional? What if he thought she was lying to herself? What if he had to go through the whole ordeal that they had when Yusei had first gone missing?

Or worse.

What if it was true that she was lying to herself?

Before she could make up her mind to add more or just send the text, though, a commotion on the side of the street caught her attention.

There was a man. He had black curls and dark brown eyes, almost black. He wore tight, expensive clothes and a brown coat with long cattails at the bottom. Sweat was building on his brow seeing as he was surrounded by three males-

_Wait a moment . . . ._

It was Yugi, Jaden, and-and Yusei.

But she couldn't move her fingers to save her life. She couldn't move, paralyzed with shock. She saw them. But what were they doing? Why were they doing it?

She was about to see.

"Scum like you should be taken off the streets." Jaden stated. His eyes were dark, emotionless, pitiless. He was impassive. From what she had seen of his friends, he couldn't possibly be acting that way. Why would he be?

"Like you're any better." The man stated, snarling at him. "You're part of the Black Serpent's Order."

In the blink of an eye, Yugi was standing right in front of him. "You're part of the Light."

"Yes. We will bring peace and order to the world. We will save everyone from your evil ways." His eyes shone with malice, but also passion. He truly believed in his cause.

Yusei laughed coldly. "Really?"

"Yes." Growled the man, eyes darting to the boy inches away from him.

"Stop lying to yourself." Commanded Yugi, suddenly only an inch away from the man. "The Light is a cult, just like the Black Serpent's Order. The only difference is that you pretend that you are almighty and claim that you just want to save everyone from becoming like us."

"That's a lie-"

He was interrupted when a knife was pressed against his throat. "Take off the jacket."

"You can't kill me. One with the crystal in their possession can't be killed, especially not by someone who also has one." He stated, a drop of sweat slipping down his neck.

"Killing is not necessary. Pain is the only incentive we need." Yusei said from behind him. A look of terror passed over the man's face.

Luna dropped the phone in shock. She backed up into the darkness, not daring to take her eyes off of the horrifying sight. They were her heroes. How could they do this? Threaten him?

The man gulped, but did as Yugi said, revealing a tight black shirt. Before he could blink, the knife had ripped the shirt down the middle, revealing the man's bare chest and abs.

Luna had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping.

On the center of his chest was a perfect circle. From it at the four directions were lines. It looked alike the sun in a way, however, at the very center there was an X that had it's arms extending to the spaces in between the lines from the outside.

And above it, around the man's neck, was a silver chain. On the chain was a piece of some type of a stone. The stone, though, was unlike anything Luna had ever seen. It let off a faint light that at the same time was darkness. It was a firm shade, but of what color, Luna couldn't tell. It was as if it were shifting colors. The stone seemed like liquified energy that was trapped in a solid form. It was the strangest sight Luna had ever seen.

"Hand over the crystal." Yugi commanded.

The man shook his head. "You will have to battle me for it."

"Fine." Yugi stated. "_I challenge a mortal to a battle of fate. By the power of the Crystal of Agartha, may the Earth choose her winner._"

As is on cue, light from the other's gem began to explode as if by means of fire. The same thing began to occur around him. Around the necks of the three boys, the same light seemed to expand. No one blinked, as if it were some normal occurrence.

Luna started running, but stopped.

Then the light was at a high.

And it died down. But things were . . . different.

Jaden and Yusei had moved to the other side and were a significant amount of space from Yugi, who was minus a trench coat that he had been previously wearing and with his leather clothing slightly ripped in a few areas. The back of his shirt was ripped in two long, vertical lines. The rest of his clothes, though, seemed just fine. In a somewhat bloody grasp was the other man's necklace. And in front of Yugi was the man himself, bloody and unmoving.

Then Yugi turned to look at her, whipping blood from his split lip with his free hand.

She realized then that she had revealed herself. She stumbled back fearfully. Behind her, her phone buzzed as if reminding her that it was still there.

"Luna." Yusei stated, walking over to her.

She didn't move. He gave her more than enough time to move. Why couldn't she just run? He knelt down to look her in the eye.

Then, she just couldn't hold it. She didn't care if someone saw her. She lunged at him, holding him close, reassuring herself that he was there and real. And she just started crying, bawling her eyes out. His soft hands caressed her back. "Luna." He murmured.

"Y-Yusei, I thought-I thought you were de-dead!" She cried into his chest.

"I might as well be." He whispered back.

"Wha-What?" She exclaimed, clinging tighter as more tears rolled down her face.

"Luna, you can't come after us. Okay? If you do bad things will happen. You have to stay away." He whispered, smoothing down her hair.

"Bu-"

"You have to understand this." He interrupted.

"No!" She exclaimed through her tears hysterically. "No! I-I won't! I can't!"

He sighed. "Luna, I have to go. But you have to remember that. For me."

"No!" She shouted, pulling away to look him in the eye. "N-Uh!" Her eyes widened when she felt a pressure at the back of her neck. She struggled for a moment that seemed like hours before whispering Yusei and letting her eyes slip closed.

Yusei picked her up and carried her back to the sidewalk where her phone was vibrating nonstop.

And the three were gone like ghosts. It was as if they had never been or never would be.

FudoTwin17: Okay, I liked it!

Cat: Well, it was pretty nice.

Dog # 1: I'm confused.

FudoTwin17: Good for you. Review, please!


	14. Note

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

Psudocode_Samurai

Rocketman1728

dracohalo117

VFSNAKE

Agato the Venom Host

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SamCrow

Blood Brandy

Dusk666

Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

BlackRevenant

Lord Orion Salazar Black

Sakusha Saelbu

Horocrux

socras01

Kumo no Makoto

Biskoff

Korraganitar the NightShadow

NightInk

Lazruth

ragnrock kyuubi

SpiritWriterXXX

Ace6151

FleeingReality

Harufu

Exiled crow

Slifer1988

Dee Laynter

Angeldoctor

Final Black Getsuga

ZamielRaizunto

Fenris187

blood enraged

arashiXnoXkami

Masane Amaha's King

Blueexorist

Nero Angelo Sparda

Sharkteeth

DAPC

Kyuubi16

bunji the wolf

EternalKnight219

Shi Kami The Murderous Prodigy

DeathNoteMaker

Nostalgic Remedy

Paco the Taco Maker

Ireadtomuch

Marauder Heir

ScifiSOS

ncalkins

Psudocode_Samurai

Rocketman1728

dracohalo117

VFSNAKE

Agato the Venom Host

Jay Frost

SamCrow

Blood Brandy

Dusk666

Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

BlackRevenant

Lord Orion Salazar Black

Sakusha Saelbu

Horocrux

socras01

Kumo no Makoto

Biskoff

Korraganitar the NightShadow

NightInk

Lazruth

ragnrock kyuubi

SpiritWriterXXX

Ace6151

FleeingReality

Harufu

Exiled crow

Slifer1988

Dee Laynter

Angeldoctor

Final Black Getsuga

ZamielRaizunto

Fenris187

blood enraged

arashiXnoXkami

Masane Amaha's King

Blueexorist

Nero Angelo Sparda

Uzunaru999

The Next Muse

Yumiko21

Asmileadaykeepmeway

Youwillnotstopme

Firewillburn

917brat

Mai Ascot

ForbbidenForest

Blood of the Dawn

FudoTwin17

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. I just found this on a story by Blood of the Dawn and I can seriously agree. I've had some serious hate mail and one author out to get me whom FanFiction won't allow me to block. I love you all if you read this and I'm sorry to disappoint you guys with the fact that this isn't a chapter. The next chapter I promise WILL be a real chapter, however I'm going on Hiatus until the end of Finals (Friday). Sorry, again. Please, post this to any of your stories if you feel the same. Thank you for all support and reviews. I love you all.


	15. Freedom, Manipulation, Focus

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys.

Cat: And here comes the apology.

FudoTwin17: You didn't have to say it like that.

Goldfish # 4: Yes he did.

FudoTwin17: Anyways, I am sorry. Unfortunately, though, I had a lot going on. Not only did I have issues with writer's block, but I had surgery on my hand, I got seriously sick, I am on crutches because of my leg, and my school work suffered because of my devotion to my drama department. I should have updated, but I didn't and I'm sorry for that. Therefore, this is your apology. A super long chapter that will hopefully give you a small reason to forgive me.

Cat: Speaking of that, it's time for the chapter.

FudoTwin17: Yeah. I don't own anything pertaining to any of the Yu-gi-oh's.

Chapter 14

The four in black trench coats appeared almost disturbingly calm as they entered the large, brick building. It was obviously abandoned, but at it's convenient placement at the edge of the city practically in the woods, it was the perfect base. No one bothered them, believing them to have something to do with drug cartels, and not even the police cared enough to check out the abandoned building.

This seemed to bother no one inside the building or in the nearby suburbs.

The four were quiet, secretly growing more and more anxious with every step they took. They turned down a long hall before climbing down stone stairs set underneath a rotten wood cellar door. After what felt like too long of maneuvering, they found themselves entering a stone doorway with a simple carpet pull over to protect against unwanted intrusions.

Inside, the room was abnormal for what one would expect of an underground room that was made with stone. There was a small table near them that held a globe and had a drawer that no doubt had a gun locked inside. On the far wall (though it wasn't so far) was a large screen of a television set up for something other than cable. On the other side of the room was a mahogany desk with clean sheets of paper, pens, and a golden box inlaid with jewels with silver writing on top in a language that none of the four knew. The floor had carpets rolled out. Behind the desk was the only chair in the room.

However, the chair was hidden by a man. The man was obviously in his late forties by his graying hair and light blue, wrinkled eyes. He wore no aged smile, instead showing off a grim look that was somehow not a frown. He wore a salt and pepper suit with a gold pin. At his hand, there was a ring with an unusual jewel that seemed to shine, but at the same time be complete darkness as it shifted colors in a perpetual yet completely random cycle.

The four filed themselves into a line before him, not speaking.

"Well?" He asked, voice dark and angry.

Yugi spoke, his eyes dark and dangerous as he spared his friends the discomfort of doing the report. "We have completed the mission." He pulled out the same pendant that Luna had seen around the dead man's neck and balanced it in the palm of his hand. "There was no collateral damage. No one but the Light will believe that the death of their member was one of our acts." The man stared down Yugi as if probing for lies, but the man held strong, glaring forward as if he had not just denied there being any witnesses to their act.

"Very well." He took the pendant, quickly locking it away. "Now, for your next assignment. You will be competing in the Duel Tournament that Seto Kaiba will soon be setting up."

"Sir," Spoke Yugi hesitantly, stepping forward once again, "isn't it better if we leave? Our past acquaintances could get involved and find out about-"

"Silence!" The man yelled, an angry vein popping at his neck. His dark eyes bored down on Yugi. The man stiffened, bowing his head to the older man and stepping back as he regained his clam. "Are you idiots?" He questioned, anger still coloring his voice. "Do you not understand what is going on?" At the silence, his fury grew, though he refrained from shouting. "Fools." He spat. "You may be our best agents, but your baggage is starting to outweigh your benefits. Your friends, your fame, those that look for you, your secrets-they are not good. The four of you only have one more mission before your release. After, you are free to stay and work if you want, but if not, then you will be released to spend the rest of your lives away from us. Now, your mission is simple."

The group of four snapped back to attention, quickly being drawn out of their glassy-eyed, shock-induced reverie. They listened carefully to the next mission, each paying rapt attention. Escape was the only thing they had dreamed of since they had been captured. They'd dreamed of what they would do and how they would be with their friends again and-

And it was the only thing that they wanted almost as much as their friend's safety.

Even if freedom hadn't meant being alive.

. . .

It was less than a day since the incident before the entire group knew that Luna, one of Yusei's close friends, was in the hospital. They waited patiently for the girl to awaken. After all, the only injury she had sustained was a bit of swelling on the back of her head that went down less than an hour since she was admitted.

By late night, they were all forced out of the hospital and back to their homes with the promise that she would most likely be awake and ready to leave the next day.

However, the next day she didn't awake.

The doctors became more frantic each hour as she showed no sign of awakening. By the third day, it appeared that she was in a coma and the doctors were frantic. She had large amounts of brain activity that they had only seen in rare cases in which the people were awake. Her brother Leo and her boyfriend Sly spent as much time as possible at the hospital, waiting for her to wake.

However, with all they were dealing with, a spark of fear had ignited in their usually hopeful minds.

What if she didn't wake up? What if the doctors couldn't bring her back? What if Luna spent the rest of her life on that bed, never to move again?

But most of all, they feared that they had lost someone else who mattered to them.

The empty hole in Leo's heart was still a painfully fresh wound that he had tried to ignore by focusing on others, especially his sister. He had never recovered from his role model's disappearance and had tried to slap a band-aid on his wounded heart, pretending that he was over it. But Yusei's reappearance had practically ripped the bloodied band-aid off, making the wound only bleed more.

And it wasn't just him. Sly, though he knew the man very little, had felt the sting of the community as Yusei had disappeared and he had felt torn every time he looked at the broken down girl that he had to hold after horrendous nightmares and flashbacks. She felt pain, and he knew that she wanted him back. That's why it stung so much.

He couldn't comfort her like Yusei could and he couldn't find Yusei to drag him back to fix everything.

He felt powerless.

And it hurt.

His hand tightened on hers as his eyes trained themselves on her face, deceivingly calm. She looked as if she were asleep. If it wasn't for the steady beeping of the heart monitor, then he might have believed that she was just sleeping.

But he knew better.

Sly leaned his forehead against her hand, thankful to be holding the hand without the IV. Her hand was soft and cold against his forehead, almost like a corpse. He shivered.

_Please. _He begged silently. _Please, please, please! Just wake up!_

. . .

Seto sighed, the permanent purple bags underneath his eyes even darker than usual. Though his body was obviously overexerted and his mind was slowly becoming clouded, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. He had too much work.

Though Rebecca was working on finding anything she could on their missing friends (as he had come to call Yugi in his mind, but not aloud), he still had work to do. His company was very important and prosperous. It was especially that way as whenever he was stressed, happy, distracted, disturbed, or feeling anything along his emotional spectrum-not that he'd admit to feeling any of those things-he worked.

Since Yugi had disappeared, his company had only gained more profit and gotten stronger and better in every way.

Well, almost. He hadn't had a dueling tournament in years. He constantly had advisors who asked him to continue them with how much money and press they caught, but he had refused. There was no point to them anymore. There was no one that could beat him or make the tournaments more interesting anymore.

And a part of him didn't want to ruin the memories of the previous tournaments with another one that had nothing to interest him in. Another part of him just didn't want to dilute his memories of Yugi.

But if he was really back . . . .

He looked up as one of his security guards knocked before entering. He blinked, waiting. For a moment there was absolute silence. "Yes?"

She bit her lip nervously. She had long silver hair that that was in a ponytail left to cascade down her back. Her wire held to her ear just as it should, though her sunglasses had a habit of drooping to show off dark blue eyes. Her skin was pale as the moon, seeming even more pale with her black suit. There was something familiar about her that had made him hire her. He didn't know what. For a moment, he tried to remember her name. He was always forgetting it. Kisara? Kayla? No . . . . It started with a K . . . . Right! Kira!

"Sir." She spoke softly but surely. "You've seemed off lately. I was wondering what was wrong." Her eyes lifted, obviously concerned. "If I may."

He blinked before nodding, partially gapping. Quickly, he found his voice. "Yes. Yes, take a seat." He gestured to one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.

She nodded before speaking. "Sir, lately you've been getting even less sleep. It's dangerous to your health." If it were anyone else, he might have gotten annoyed, but her voice kept him from anger. "Please. Maybe talking about whatever is bothering you is a good idea."

He looked at her uncertainly. He was Seto Kaiba! He didn't need to talk to anyone! But . . . .

Over the years, he had grown steadily more weary. He was tired and pained and spoke little. He shut himself up in his office without food or sleep for days before passing out on his desk over his work. He knew that he was slowly breaking. He knew that he couldn't take it much longer. But . . . .

He was a Kaiba.

"Please." Kira spoke again, her voice soft. "Please talk to me."

He was a Kaiba!

But her voice seemed to break a wall in his inner wall. Before he knew it, he was speaking. He told her everything; He told her about protecting his little brother from his father, about how abusive the man was, about taking over the company so young, about Yugi, and-oh, goodness, everything about the younger man! He told her everything.

There was no restraining himself. He just . . . . He . . . .

He hadn't realized it, but she had moved. Her hands were soft in his and his eyes couldn't help but meet her compassionate dark blue eyes. "Thank you for trusting me." She whispered in the quiet of the room after his speaking. "I know those scars will never heal, but trust me. You can still make a better tomorrow."

He just looked at her, pain in his eyes. He had just admitted everything to her. He couldn't-He . . . . He didn't know how well he could handle that.

"You can save Yugi." She whispered, clutching his hands tighter. "You can save him. You can make your future brighter. You can make your life worth something. You can save him just like he saved you."

Something in him broke at those words and he knew that his pride would suffer greatly. But he pushed the thought away because right then it didn't matter if he was a Kaiba. He needed to talk to someone and she was there. "How?"

She smiled at him softly, sunglasses slipping as usual. "Get his attention the way you used to. Set up a dueling tournament. The biggest one yet. One that he can't resist." In his torn, tired state, he didn't notice the hint of malice in her eyes.

That was why he nodded, spent and ready to collapse.

Seto Kaiba was broken, but only two people in the entire world knew.

One of them, or perhaps both of them, couldn't be trusted.

. . .

When Luna opened her eyes, she didn't remember everything immediately. It took her time to remember Yusei's face swimming in her memories along with the corpse of a man whom she'd not given another thought to after seeing Yusei. Something inside her broke, and she let the tears fall, not trying to stop them. Pain ripped through her entire being.

Though she knew that they hadn't wanted to, thinking back to the body made her heart clench and her entire being hurt.

Curling up, she tried to push it from her mind again, but she seemed to fail. Luna sighed, knowing that it would take too long to get rid of that horrid nightmare. However, she couldn't let herself focus on that man.

He was dead. There was nothing that could be done for him.

Yusei was alive. She could still save him. And she could save Jaden and Yugi, too.

She just needed help.

That was when she looked around and realized that she was not where she had been when she was knocked out. She was in a dark forest, small bits of light fluttering through pine needles and thick canopies of leaves. The ground was soft underneath her fingertips, dirt loose and fertile. She herself was leaning against a large pine.

Slowly, she stood, her gray-gold eyes wandering the plain, searching for any lifeforms she had missed during her initial sweep of the area. "Hello?" She called timidly. "Is anyone out there?" Her voice seemed to hang in the air oddly. She found herself frowning and looking around again.

She didn't know where she was, but a part of her seemed to be whispering that she wasn't in the normal world. She glanced down at her signer mark, wondering where she could be. Maybe she was in the spirit world again?

"Regulus?" She called again, stepping forward and distinctly missing the sound of the soil and pine needles beneath her feet. "Regulus, are you there?"

She knew this couldn't be her world. It had to be the spirit word! It wasn't . . . It couldn't be anywhere else.

"Kuribon?" She shouted almost desperately. "Regulus? Regulus!"

She found herself running, desperate to find them or-or anyone. She needed someone to ground herself. Just-anything. And in this world, she found she didn't tire. She ran for hours and still hadn't exerted herself. She wasn't tired or hungry or thirsty.

Finally, though, she realized that she wasn't going to find anyone. She stopped, leaning against a tree as she wrestled with herself. She needed help. But more than her, her friends needed help. She needed to help them.

"Where is everyone?" She whispered, dropping to the soft ground without a sound. This realm seemed not to even have a breeze. She sighed, running a hand through her green hair. She needed to leave. To leave, she had to find someone to help her escape. Surely there was someone that could help her get back to her friends!

And . . . . And get back to Sly.

She shook her head, pushing the thoughts away, choosing instead to sit in silence. Slowly, she got an idea. Will.

Her will.

Yusei always had the will and drive to do something. He was focused and wise, no matter what. Slowly, she drew a breath, gathering all her will power. She folded her legs together, closing her eyes for focus.

Yusei.

She needed to get out.

Will.

She had to help.

Drive.

She needed help.

Focus.

She could do this.

Wise.

She _could _do this!

Unknown to her, her form began to glow a light white, surrounding her and drawing power from her spirit. Slowly, it grew with her will until it was a white blaze that surrounded her, lighting her way. Forming the shape of a great bird, it sored into the sky, tail feathers blazing.

It passed through the forest, across the mountains until it reached a desert. In the desert, it deposited the girl, weary and unconscious, into the sand. Slowly, it dissipated, leaving behind only a faint light glow that too would disappear before the young girl would awaken.

But it had done it's job.

In front of the pale girl was a towering palace of gold and white with the gentle hum of music surrounding it. It held signs of life from the light smell of food from inside to the gentle murmur of voices within it's walls.

She had done it.

She just didn't know it yet.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Okay, I hope that's good enough for you guys. If it's not, I've got another chappie on the way!

Cat: She's obviously excited.

FudoTwin17: I am! I'm finally (writing) getting to the good stuff!

Goldfish # 4: You mean to say that this wasn't good?

FudoTwin17: No! I mean-

Goldfish # 4: She'll be eagerly awaiting your reviews and requests. Bye now.


	16. Take My Heart

FudoTwin17: Wow, guys. It's sad how long it's been since I updated.

Cat: Yup.

Dog # 1: You know that's right.

FudoTwin17: You guys deserve someone who updates at least once a month, but instead you got me. What luck, huh? I'm sorry. I'll try to update more, but I have a life (kinda) so I'm not always on FF, not to mention that I have other stories. Sorry, again.

Cat: She doesn't own anything connected to Yu-gi-oh except OC's and merchandise that she uses too regularly to be normal.

FudoTwin17: Hey!

Chapter 15

When Joey arrived home, he was tired. Actually, he was more than tired. He was emotionally drained, ready to collapse. It had been a while since their first and only meeting on finding Yugi and the others. Rebecca hadn't called any of them again with new information. It was driving him crazy being so close to his best friend again, yet being so far.

The blond collapsed on his couch, slinging an arm over his eyes to block the dim lighting of the apartment. It occurred to him that he should just turn out the lights, but he somehow couldn't find the motivation to move.

How could he be being used for so long against Yugi without even realizing it? How could there be someone dangerous with intentions only to kill him on command have been involved in his life without him suspecting a thing? Joey breathed a heavy sigh.

If he really thought about it, they still were. He didn't know who they were! But they knew him. He wished that he could just figure it out. However, even if he did, he knew it was no use. If these people were really as big and powerful as Rebecca suspected, then it was obvious that they had more than one on him and everyone else. But even if Joey managed to escape them, he knew that he would never be able to live with himself.

He wouldn't ever be able to live with himself if he ran like a coward. Joey shook his head. He was many things, but he refused to be a coward.

He groaned to himself as his phone rang. Slowly, he drew it out from his pocket, not removing his right arm from it's resting place across his eyes. "Hello?"

"Finally you pick up your darn phone, you stupid kid!" Yelled a familiar voice through his speakers. Joey winced as his ears rang at the harsh abuse of his eardrum. He scowled into the empty room, removing his arm from across his face and sitting upright on his couch.

It was his dad. Joey and his father had lost contact after Joey had finally paid off the last of his father's debt. It had been one of his few good moments where he'd actually felt proud after Yugi's disappearance. That moment when he'd told his dad that he'd paid everything and that his father no longer had any hold over him was probably the highlight of his days after the day Yugi disappeared.

Joey sighed, running a hand through his unruly locks. That day had been horrible. He'd gone to school expecting nothing out of the ordinary, but he'd gotten a nightmare. The moment that Kaiba had snarled at him like that he'd known something was wrong. Every hair on the back of his neck had gone up, and he'd been scared.

Yes, scared.

Kaiba had never told him off for something he'd done to Yugi before. Sure, he'd insulted him for lots of other things, but never for something he'd done to Yug. Kaiba knew that he'd never hurt Yugi. That's how friends worked.

But that day had been different.

Kaiba had been angry, angrier than Joey had ever seen him in his life. It was as if someone had kidnapped Mokuba! And he'd had reason to.

And then finding the game shop like that . . . .

Joey knew that he'd always be haunted by what they'd found. The bloody footprints to the small pool of blood at the steps to the phone that had dangled from it's hook-it all made Joey's heart pound. The place had been dark and the sound of the phone's beeps trying to alert someone in the household that it wasn't on it's hook had been enough to make Bakura, who'd tagged along, as well as Tristan and him to leave, though none of them voiced it aloud. He'd even bet that Taya and Kaiba wanted to leave!

But they didn't.

Joey sighed quietly. Sometimes, they all returned to the game shop. Of course, it was usually separately, but sometimes they ran into each other. The shop hadn't been opened in years, but it was still standing. Kaiba had taken to protecting it. He paid a maid to clean it regularly and even a separate lawyer to deal with anyone who tried to repossess it, though no one would considering that it was under Kaiba's protection.

But Joey knew very well why Kaiba protected it. It was like how a parent kept the room of a dead or missing child exactly as they left it in hope they'd come back or because they simply couldn't bare packing away their things.

Joey sighed heavily.

"Hey, brat! Are ya listening at all?" Joey winced at his dad's voice. "I said I need some dough."

Joey scowled again at the wall, standing as he growled through the phone. "Yeah? Well, go get it yourself. I ain't doin' anything for ya anymore! Especially not givin' ya money that ya can earn yourself!"

Joey could almost hear his dad's rage. "You-"

However, that didn't mean Joey wanted to hear what his dad had to say. Joey left the man for a reason. He didn't want to put up with the drunk maniac anymore. And his father had no right to call him up to ask him for money after everything that he'd done for him despite everything that the the old man had done to him.

So, without further ado, Joey hung up and turned off his phone.

The man rubbed his temple before the anger began to build up in his mind. Yugi, rent, his dad-why did everything have to happen right then! Joey sighed painfully, turning his phone back on.

He couldn't miss any news about Yugi and the others.

Without another thought, he rushed out of the apartment, barely taking his time to lock up. There was only one place that could calm his thoughts and numb his mind to the outside world that he felt the need to go when life got to be too much. Taking a deep breath, he began to go on his way toward the one place that he always was at during high school.

The game shop may have been empty of people, but it still had too many memories, both good and bad.

. . .

Rebecca stared angrily at the screen of her computer as it failed to do what she wanted. She took a calming breath and pushed the laptop away, putting her face in her hands. She sighed.

All the footage from the corner where Luna had been knocked into her mysterious coma were gone. An entire hour was missing from the footage. Not one shop or street camera had caught a thing. It was frustrating to her. How could every bit of footage of a particular scene disappear?

Rebecca paused. Or be stolen. What if it had been taken by the group that had taken Yugi? She knew it was a bit of a long shot. After all, Luna may have gone into a coma, but from her research, it wasn't the first time. The four of them might not have even been involved.

But the girl had just gotten this feeling. She just knew that something important had been on those tapes. And their mysterious disappearance? Maybe it had been them. Maybe they put the poor girl into a coma. Maybe it was a cover up.

However, Rebecca had never liked maybes. She was a researcher. She lived for knowledge and art. She lived for history. She didn't like cover-ups. They always bothered her. Why cover something up? Why not let the public know the truth? Why not?

This felt too much like a cover-up to her. Why did every recording that could possibly inform her of what happened to Luna disappear?

Rebecca frowned. She needed a break. With a sigh, she flipped on the news, heading into her kitchen to get herself a fresh cup of coffee. As she waited for it to brew, she listened to the news. And she couldn't help it when she gasped out loud at what she was hearing.

"Well," Angelina, one of the older news reporters began, "it looks like we're having the first duel tournament in years! Seto Kaiba has finally decided to bring back the dueling tournaments! It'll be the first since the disappearance of Yugi Muto, the king of games. Anyways, Kaiba is also introducing a new way to duel. The new dueling technique uses a headpiece so that you can see your duel monsters interact with the playing field, which is wherever you are. As well as that, you can now receive damage from the environment in the right conditions. However, working scientists on this new type of dueling say that it is only a prototype, and it will be upgraded soon. The sign-up for the new tournament begins tomorrow and ends on Monday when the duel tournament will begin. Good luck for all duelers out there!"

"Thank you, Angelina." Said a male reporter that Rebecca didn't recognize by voice. To her, it seemed like all the dudes had similar voices. "Now, in other news, there was a plane wreck yesterday afternoon at-"

Rebecca shut off the news, quickly snatching up her phone. She had a plan. After three rings, the person on the other end picked up. "Rebecca?"

"Alexis, can you do me a favor?" Rebecca grinned maliciously to herself before she grimaced, thinking about what would happen if she was wrong. She could only pray that things worked out right. "Weren't there three kids with you when Jaden and the others reappeared?"

. . .

When Joey entered the game shop and flipped on the light, he had somehow expected to be alone. Somehow, though, it didn't surprise him when he found none other than Seto Kaiba just sitting in the living room area. He had a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, and he was staring at the television as if it were on.

Joey might have thought it were creepy if he hadn't done the same thing countless times. When Joey thought about it, that was one of the few things he did often here. He sat and stared unseeingly, lost in his memories. With a low sigh, he sat himself down to the man he had almost hated for years.

Joey hadn't seen Kaiba in years. To tell the truth, before the whole mess with their friends reappearing began, he hadn't seen Kaiba since they had taken their first trip to this building, looking for Yugi.

It seemed like so long ago when they'd came in here together, hoping to find Yugi, all of him and not just a pool of unforgiving blood. When Joey closed his eyes, he could sometimes conjure pictures of it in his mind. He could see the blood, the footprints, Yugi, bloody and beaten (though that was purely his imagination and guilt taking it's toll), and that stupid phone. In his nightmares, he could always hear the phone dial. It was his only constant.

Joey sighed, closing his eyes against the dim room and leaning his head back against the couch. He took deep breaths, pushing out the negative thoughts in his mind about-about everything, and desperately trying to breathe in something that was good or at least distracting.

After a while, he found that the house had lulled him into a fitful sleeping wonderland.

Somehow, it didn't bother him at all that he could sleep so easily right next to Kaiba.

. . .

Everything felt warm and comfortable, soft, too. Luna cuddled into it automatically, trying desperately to cling to the last bit of sleep she had. She didn't want to think about the waking world. It was so full of problems and pain that she just didn't want to face it. If she stayed there forever, she would never have to face it.

"I think she's waking up." Whispered a soft voice. It was feminine, and it almost lulled Luna straight back to sleep. A part of her whispered that she'd heard it before, though, and that it was time to wake.

But Luna didn't want to wake.

"I hope so." A bolder, male voice stated, making her clutch onto her blanket automatically. It was very familiar. "I've never seen anyone sleep here. I thought that we couldn't to tell the truth."

"That's because we can't, Pharaoh." She replied.

The title immediately registered in Luna's mind. Pharaoh? As in king of Egypt, Pharaoh? She forced herself out of unconsciousness, stretching her limbs slightly to get a feel for the waking world. It was time to get up.

"I told you, you don't need to call me pharaoh. I'm your friend, and it's the afterlife. We don't need titles anymore." He spoke. However, before the female voice could reply, he continued. "Isis, she's awake."

When Luna's golden eyes slid open to the world, the first thing she saw was Yugi Muto, the King of Games.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Oh, I'm tired. Like, really tired. Somehow, I think if I continue, it's gonna end up really stupid.

Goldfish # 4: Like you?

Goldfish # 8: No, like you, golden boy.

FudoTwin17: Boys, boys, do we really have to do this right now? ***sigh* **Anyways, thanks for those of you who have offered to help. Thank you for your support, and if you guys think you know of any good dueling episodes in any of the series (except ZEXAL as I'm not caught up yet), then please tell me. I want to write good duel scenes, but, frankly, I've never written one before, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Oh, and if you want something in the series, don't forget to ask! I'll definitely try to include something with your idea! Thank you, and have a good night.

Cat: You mean morning.

FudoTwin17: Whatevs.


	17. The Realm of Choices

FudoTwin17: Hey, guys. I'm not really up to much right now. Sorry. My motivation is low, and life has really knocked me down. I'm sorry. A lot has happened. I won't bore you with the details, but I did want to say I'm sorry. I don't own Yu-gi-oh, GX, or 5D's.

Chapter 15

Jesse wished that he had never picked up that stupid letter. The boy couldn't help it, though.

It had been years since their little high school group had fallen apart. When Jaden disappeared, though, no one wanted to talk to each other. It was too painful. Jaden was their glue, and he was gone-no where on the map where they could find him.

Eventually, their group got to the point where no one talked to each other unless absolutely necessary. And since he, Bastion, Jim, and Axle went to America after school, they were contacted even less than those who stayed in the country.

That was the reason he couldn't resist picking up the letter that had been written from Japan. He couldn't help the hope that welled up inside of him. And the first words on the front made his heart pound.

_He's back._

Of course, the rest of the letter made his heart churn and ache, but it somehow couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling that maybe, just maybe, they might finally get him back. They might finally save the boy that they had gone through so much with. They might finally get back to being a happy group of friends.

He smiled at the very thought.

So, of course, he ended up on a plane with Bastion, Jim, and Axle, and they all headed for Japan. If Jesse said he regretted it, he'd be lying. All he wanted was his friends back together. Was that really so much to ask for?

Either way, he somehow ended up on that plane with his friends because of that stupid letter. As the warning lights went on and airbags fell from the overhead compartment, he couldn't help the lurching feeling in his chest.

None of his spirits could help him. He was stranded in the physical world in a plane spiraling down into oblivion. His heart pounded in his chest as Ruby appeared on his shoulder comfortingly. Despite her soothing presence, though, he couldn't help his fear.

When the plane finally impacted the ground, he felt himself jolt forward, only his seatbelt holding him in place. His eyes were wide as he glanced at his friends, watching their reactions seem to mimic his. Then the plane tilted, and Jesse's eyes caught on the bags of cargo on the other side of the shaking walkway. Almost in slow motion the luggage fell free of their barriers and fell toward their side.

He wasn't surprised when it hit him, and boy, did it hurt! He blinked the black spots out of his eyes to realize that the door leading to the pilot's room was spewing fire. He felt oddly winded, too. He blinked in confusion when he realized that he couldn't hear any screaming.

Jesse looked at his friends and was surprised to see them undoing their buckles. He blinked before Bastion noticed him and mouthed something that Jesse couldn't hear. Then Axle was in front of him. The other boy touched his face before pulling back with something dark red and slippery on his fingertips that Jesse couldn't seem to identify. He mouthed something to the others before turning back to him. Axle reached down and unbuckled him before pulling him up.

The boy couldn't help it as his knees buckled. He momentarily blacked out before he realized that he was looking at the floor and someone's back. He realized faintly that there was a hand on his back, holding him to a shoulder.

Taking a glance up to see a burning plane in the middle of a large intersection surrounded by crashed cars, stopped buses, and people rushing away, he felt an odd sense of detachment. As a sudden fiery inferno wrapped around the plane, he felt his consciousness finally slip.

Sweet, blissful darkness pulled him under.

. . .

When emerald eyes opened, Jesse felt a jolt of surprise go through him. He found himself in a huge space that light seemed to radiate from. White marble staircases and doors seemed to entirely make up the room along with a few surfaces that weren't carved into staircases and doors seemed to pulse and move as if the room were alive.

"What . . . . Where am I?" Jesse murmured quietly to himself, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He took a step forward when a wave of energy seemed to slam into him.

_"We're losing him!"_

_ "Jesse, please wake up! We need you here!"_

_ "Clear!"_

_ "Jesse, please don't leave us."_

_ "He's lucky to be alive!"_

_ "The plane crash killed a lot of people. It's dumb luck that one of the first injured managed to make it out to a hospital while sixty others couldn't."_

_ "Hey, isn't he one of that Yuki boy's friends?"_

_ "That's the second one to go into a coma like that. There are no physical reason for him to still be asleep, and his brain activity says that he should be awake, but he __still shows no signs of waking up."_

_ "Is he gonna die like that?"_

_ "He looks just like he's sleeping."_

_ "Jesse . . . . Don't die. We need you! Jaden needs you!"_

Confusion wrapped around him. Jesse blinked, staring upwards where the voices seemed to come from. There didn't seem to be a ceiling, just a void of light and never-ending staircases. "Where on earth am I?"

"The realm of choices." The voice from behind him startled the boy. He'd been sure there was no one there a minute ago! However, as much as he was surprised by the voice, it chilled him to the bone. The voice seemed to raise the hairs on the back of his neck and burn into his subconsciousness. Slowly, he turned, eyes wide at the sight he expected but didn't want to see.

She was wickedly beautiful with a soft look in her eye as she stood there in all her glory, the light bending around her. His breathing shallowed. "Yubel."

The spirit smiled softly, and, for a moment, her eyes seemed to flicker a dark brown. "Hello, Jesse."

Jesse couldn't help it as he staggered back a step. "Why-Why are you here?"

Jesse couldn't help the feeling of anxiety he felt looking at her. He figured it was natural for him to feel that spark of fear ignite considering that she did take over his body, even if she did appear a bit softer and more gentle than before. He could feel his heart pounding and hands shaking. However, he somehow felt a bit of surprise when she finally spoke.

"We need your help. Please." She whispered.

Jesse blinked, feeling it as his world turned on it's head. "We?"

She leveled her gaze at him. "Jaden and I."

At that, he felt himself go deftly still. Jaden and her? Since when was she and Jaden . . . .

"What are you talking about?" He whispered, his tone stronger than what he thought it should have been.

"Jesse," She began softly, her eyes turning brown again. However, this time Jesse suddenly understood that those eyes were Jaden's eyes. "after I left your body, Jaden and I fused." Jesse's breath hitched as he suddenly understood Jaden's extreme character change when he returned. Of course, he knew that a lot more than he knew had happened in the other worlds, but he never would have thought that'd be one of them. "We are interconnected. It took him a long time to get used to it. His personality became darker, a bit more obsessive, more like mine. My personality became lighter, happier. We were only just getting used to the change when _it_ happened." A darker look passed through her brown eyes before they returned to their original coloring.

Though Jesse was still reeling from the very idea that Jaden and this duel monster spirit had somehow fused, he managed to swallow his discomfort and sparks of fear for his friend. "What happened? Does it have to do with his disappearance?"

"Yes." She whispered, voice so quiet that Jesse could barely hear her. "It started with a letter-a fake. We thought it was from Alexis. Pharaoh had been living at Duel Academy since our last visit, so we'd been looking forward to seeing him and Banner again. We didn't know it was a trick."

"A trick?" Repeated Jesse, shifting uncomfortably.

"When Jaden was taking a shortcut through an alley, some of their men ambushed him. He tried to escape, but there were too many. After we were taken to the base they told us that Alexis never wrote us that letter. They wrote it so they could find Jaden." She spoke softly.

"So they could find Jaden? Why couldn't they find Jaden?" Asked Jesse, looking a bit confused. However, despite his confusion, he looked determined. Whether or not he knew it, that gave Yubel hope.

"Because of his travels they could never quite get a lock on his location." She answered easily.

Jesse blinked before it hit him. "Right." Jesse had sort of forgotten about Jaden's travels. Well, forgotten wasn't really the word. He had really blocked it out in his desperation to find his friend. When he thought about it, Jesse had been overly stressed trying to find the other boy, pushing the good memories concerning him out of his mind to help cope with the fact that he was missing.

However, it wasn't the time to riffle through all the good memories of his friend. It was time to figure out how to save him. "What happened after his kidnapping?"

Yubel eyed him wearily as if trying to figure out how to answer without making Jesse feel too bad. Jesse just wished she would answer. The silence only made his heart pound more. Finally, she broke the long silence. "They made sure that we had incentive to do as they wanted. They already figured out using Yugi Muto how to control him."

"Like . . . blackmail?" Asked Jesse, hands shaking again. It just didn't feel right. There was no way that Jaden would get involved with these people to protect himself.

"In a way." She stated, a wry, painful smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. "It's not really blackmail so much as a threat."

"What could they possibly be using as a threat?" Jesse demanded, bewildered. Though the letter didn't hold as much information as he would have liked, it hadn't held any information concerning threats or blackmail. Then again, maybe they didn't know why he was in league with these . . . these people.

"You." She stated. Flabbergasted, Jesse felt his mouth open and close multiple times. Before he could quite get a handle on the new information, she continued. "And the rest of his friends. After all, Jaden would do anything for his friends. Every single one of you is in danger. They have at least one man on you at all times. If Jaden steps out of line they could easily kill or injure one of you. And if one dies it's no loss to them. They have twenty more they still have against him."

Jesse gagged at the thought before he paused, thinking about the plane. "They couldn't have followed us on the plane, though. I mean, if they're around us so much, then surely one of us would have noticed a familiar face on the plane-"

He cut himself off by the look on her face.

It was eerily quiet for a moment before she whispered, "Jaden was bad."

A chill ran down his spine, making Jesse suddenly feel more alert and much more fearful. His heart pounded in his ears. "What do you-"

"He tried to warn Alexis. He tried to apologize for what he knew he would have to do soon. It's partially the reason that Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei's friends all banded together. When they found out, they punished him."

"How did they . . . ." Jesse trailed off, his eyes widening. "The plane."

He suddenly felt like he understood. Jaden had helped cause a huge gathering that was determined to take down these people that had stolen their friends and take the three of them back. That was something huge that they needed to punish him for. Then, of course, four of his friends planned on going by plane to help save him. It would have been perfect. If they had a man on the inside of the airport, which, if they were as big as Yubel and the letter implied, they most likely had, all they would have to do was wait to see which plane they were getting on. Then, while everyone was waiting to get on the plane, their man would have sabotaged it. The flames spewing from the front of the plane as it spiraled toward earth. And no one would ever guess that the plane crash was only intended to kill four people. Only Jaden and others within the group that took him away would ever know, and Jaden would never step out of line again.

"Yes." She replied grimly. "The plane. He wasn't the only one to step out of line, though."

"Who else did?" Jesse questioned, trying to force the bile in his throat down.

"A girl. Caitlynn Fudo." She replied simply. "She warned one of Yusei's friends, and, as a result, her closest friends all vanished off the face of the earth."

Jesse gagged. "What?"

He couldn't help it. The very thought that these people could take more of those close to him made his blood boil and breathing sharpen. He didn't want anyone else to go missing. He didn't want one more of his precious friends to be stolen and not seen again for years.

"There were five of them. Now they're all missing, their homes left in varying degrees of disorder." Yubel informed him, her eyes pained. "Neither Jaden or the girl will disobey again."

"What-What about Yugi or-or Yusei?" Jesse asked, shaken.

She smiled softly. "Yugi was the first. He knows very well what will happen if he disobeys. The only reason he's alive anymore is for his friends. Otherwise he may have died long ago." Her eyes darkened despite the light, comforting smile. "And Yusei has never been a natural rule breaker. He broke through his limitations for rights and freedom, yes, but whenever there was something more important than his life, he wouldn't put a toe out of line. It's the same now."

Jesse stood there, completely horrified. This was definitely much worse than high school. Any one of them could be killed, injured, or kidnapped at any time. Yugi, Jaden, and Yusei were practically slaves to these monsters that had kidnapped them. Bystanders could be and already had been killed by these people.

A sudden anger swept through him. These people had no right to hurt his friends or anyone else! They had no right to steal any single person from their home, their family, or their friends! They had no right-no right-to ruin so many lives or shorten them!

"What do they even want?" He growled bitterly, his fingernails biting into his palms.

Her eyes sparkled for a moment with tears before they darkened again. Yubel's voice was quiet and dark, reminding him of Jaden after they had returned to their dimension. It made his resolve harden. "They intend to be the first to awaken Agartha."

"The first?" Questioned Jesse immediately. "And who is Agartha?"

A short jerk went through her wings, and it took Jesse a moment to realize that it had been a shutter. "There are many groups out there trying to raise her. The one that kidnapped Jaden and the others is only one. It is the closest to it's task, though. The other closest to raising her is a group called the Light. Of course, there are other groups, but that one is the one that we most meet."

Jesse nodded when she paused to show he understood.

"Agartha is a spirit, a dangerous one." She stated darkly. "Over every dimension is a guardian. Agartha is this dimension's guardian spirit. Every guardian, though, has a secret."

"A secret?" Repeated Jesse, eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes." Yubel replied. "There is a way to bring her into a solid, conscious form. And the one who does that will have complete control. They'll have control over all spirits of this dimension, creatures, and even nature itself. If she were to be raised, then the one who raised her would have complete control of Earth itself."

Jesse's eyes widened at that. Complete control of the earth? That would be more than a dictatorship. No one would be able to rise up against them if they had control of the land and every living creature on it, then no one would ever be able to rebel against them!

"I-I need to tell everyone!" He whispered, voice rising slowly. His heart pounded. He started to walk instinctively backwards despite there being no obvious means of escape. "I have to-"

"You haven't asked me the most important question yet." Yubel's voice seemed to freeze Jesse on the spot. What hadn't he asked? He stood there for a moment, staring at the duel monster spirit before it clicked in his mind.

"Who took my friend?" His voice was low and dark, but he didn't care. He should have asked this from the beginning!

Yubel smiled grimly. "They call themselves the Black Serpent's Order, but they are known by many names." She didn't specify. Jesse found he didn't want to know. _What if it's the IRS? _Of course, a moment later, Jesse was glad he didn't voice the thought. It was a bit embarrassing that he'd even seriously considered it.

He took a deep, calming breath. "I need to get out of here."

Her eyes seemed to bore into his soul before she spoke softly. "Jesse, where are we?"

Said boy paused, confused. "What?"

"Where are we?" She repeated. Jesse blinked in confusion, not quite understanding. What was she talking about? He stood there for just a moment before he thought back to the beginning of their seemingly endless conversation.

"The Realm of Choices." He repeated breathlessly. The infinite stairs and doors suddenly made sense to him. Each was a different choice and a different version of events. No wonder there were so many! Everyone made little choices each day that when coupled with others seemed to make an infinite number of chains of events possible. If there were a door for every chain of events for every choice by every person . . . .

"Yes. Everyone comes here at some point in their life, whether they know it or not." Yubel stated, and, for just a moment, Jesse blinked and could have sworn that her image flickered to a human form with pale skin and dark hair. Before he could decide if he'd seen that or not, she continued on. "You have a choice to make, Jesse Anderson. You may choose to sleep on for the rest of your life in a sweet world of happiness and joy that only you will truly be a part of. You may choose to go to the afterlife now. You will be honored as a hero and only have to wait for your friends."

She paused before stating the last. Jesse gulped before speaking. Somehow, he felt like the next one would be much worse. "And the last choice?"

Yubel seemed to glare ominously at him before her gaze softened again. "There is no last choice. There are many choices-choices beyond the ones I give to you." She sighed. "Or you could awaken to put yourself and those you care about and those you may never meet through trials and suffering like you have never known."

Jesse shifted in discomfort. A part of him wondered how there could be anything more painful than having to ally yourself with someone who stole your body to save someone that you'd blamed yourself for going missing for years. However, he swallowed, knowing that she wouldn't like that answer.

He took a deep breath.

"I have to help my friends. No matter what the cost." He finally stated.

She smiled softly. "You have a good heart like that of Yugi Muto's who solely lives for the benefit of others. Good luck, Jesse. May your spirits stay close to you."

Before Jesse could even blink, his surroundings suddenly seemed to close in on him. He took in a shaky breath before white turned to black and he thought no more of the suffering he would have to endure.

. . .

Seto blinked when he heard a loud, blaring noise. It took him five seconds to realize that it was Wheeler's cell and only five more for him to remove it from the snoring boy's pocket. For a moment, he held the ringing phone and stared at the other male in front of him. Joey and he met very rarely, and they generally did not try to meet considering that they were not friendly toward each other.

However, despite these mutual feelings, he couldn't help but notice the messy, sloppy way the other male was dressed and had his hair tossed about. As well as that, it was plain to see the dark purple bruises underneath the shut eyes. It would be plain for anyone to see that he hadn't slept well in weeks, maybe even months. _Years_. This was not to mention that he looked as skinny as his high school days. To most, that would be an achievement. However, Kaiba knew better. The other male hadn't been eating the way he used to. There was no way he could be healthy.

Thus, he wasn't too surprised when he found himself back in Yugi's kitchen, his cup of hot co-coa left on the coffee table in the other room and Wheeler's cell in his hand. After all, if this phone call was important or had something to do with Yugi, then Wheeler needed to know.

_Wheeler owes me. _He thought darkly before pressing the phone the phone to his ear. Before he could even greet the other person a storm of swear words were being spat at him. Disgusted, Seto pulled the phone away from his ear, wondering who on earth had called the mutt and why. He scowled as the swear words lowered in volume and pressed the stupid piece of technology to his ear.

"This is Seto Kaiba, head of Kaiba Corporation, speaking on behalf of one Mr. Joey Wheeler. To whom am I addressing?" His tone was cold, and he couldn't help the feeling of pride as the other's voice dropped into silence.

"The brat was talking with a corporate Helminth?" Demanded the voice rudely.

For the first time in his life, he really felt offended. He had been called many things in his life but never before had he been called a corporate intestinal worm within the same sentence as being called an acquaintance of Joey who was also being insulted. He gritted his teeth. If he ever met this man . . . .

"To whom am I addressing?" He repeated through gritted teeth.

"Joey Wheeler's father, you-" Seto removed the phone from his ear once again as the man threw some very colorful words at him.

It was kind of hard to believe that he had just spoken to Wheeler's father. After all, Joey was a fairly upbeat (painfully so), loyal person with a good hold on his tongue. Of course, he had seen the male act on pure impulse and curse before, but he knew that the other male had a ridiculous sense of control.

Faintly, he could remember hearing that Joey had been left with his father after the divorce, his sister and mother leaving him. He'd shown remarkable courage and bravery (something that Seto would never admit without substituting the words with stupidity, something the mutt definitely had in his arsenal) on numerous occasions by jumping into horrifying situations with no hesitation. He only seemed to show any hesitation when curses and magic without dueling or games were involved-when there was no way to have any control over the situation.

However, even then, he had pushed himself along after Yugi. Seto never really questioned the fondness the blond had for Yugi, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought that Joey identified with the other boy. Yugi looked young and acted a bit childlike, making it easy for Joey to see himself or his younger sister in him. Naturally, growing up in certain kind of conditions would make a person want to protect (or hurt) those they could identify with.

Seto cursed under his breath. In high school it had been only natural for him to see bruises and cuts on the blond, but since Yugi seemed to get beat up a lot, too, he always figured that it was because Joey was defending the younger boy. But now . . . .

"Are ya even listening ta me?" Growled the voice over the phone, obviously angry. "Why, you're almost as bad as that stupid kid! I said I need money!"

Seto growled. If there were two things that Kaiba hated, they were abusive parents and people trying to get money off of him. "You will get nothing from either me or Joey." He did not pause or let his voice lower from it's cold snarl even as the relation to Wheeler began to cuss him out. "In fact, you will not approach either Joey or me, either. You will stay at least thirty feet away at all times. You will not receive any money or pay-off. You will not call here again. If I hear that you do, I will report you to the police and take personal interest in your case."

"You can't do that!" The other man snarled. "I'll have ya know-"

"Be warned, Mr. Wheeler." Kaiba interrupted angrily. "I am the head of my corporation for a reason. If I so choose, your credit, bills, pay, and public and private records may be affected for the worst. And if my friend Joey informs me of anything that I don't want to hear about you, then I may go a step further in getting justice. I do not appreciate this call. I do not appreciate abuse from parental figures, either. This number will be changed soon. Do not call again." Finally, he hung up.

If Seto said he was angry, it would be a lie. He was beyond angry. In fact, he felt like ruining the man's credit scores and leaking rumors about this man already so that he would lose his social life along with any chance of him ever getting a job.

He sighed, running a hand over his face before he moved slowly back to the other room. Once he was back, he slid Wheeler's phone back into his pocket, glad he hadn't woken up. Then he sat back down, picking up his hot co-coa, thankfully still steaming, and staring at the television, lost in thoughts that were much too hard and heavy for his overrun mind.

. . .

Jaden couldn't help it as he fell to his knees, eyes wide at the news just delivered so harshly by the man in front of him. He couldn't see the yellow-toothed smile nor could he feel Yubel's calming hands on his shoulders. He just sat there, shaking with his eyes wide in horror and revulsion.

Sixty-four people died in the plane crash. Over forty were injured, including a pregnant woman that was forced into labor early. And Jesse-Jesse was in a coma. Doctors didn't know if he would awaken-not just soon, at all. They didn't believe in his chances.

If he didn't wake up soon . . . .

Suddenly, a horrid face with gleaming eyes came into his watery field of vision. He might have thought it was nothing if it didn't open it's mouth and speak in a pain-inducing voice. "Well? What do you say?"

Yubel snarled, and Jaden could feel others around him doing similar, but he was in too much of a stupor to be thankful for them or be able to be glad for their supportive presence. He felt like he was drawing a blank for anything that wasn't related to the plane crash.

_It's all my fault. All my fault. _He whispered in his mind. _Mine. All my fault. Those people. It's all my fault. _

He felt Yubel's hold on him tighten comfortingly, but he wasn't comforted in the least. Very slowly, he bent at the waist, his hands on the floor by his head. "I will obey." He stated firmly but shaken.

After all, the cost of sixty-four lives at least was much more than a blow to the boy. He would obey.

. . .

FudoTwin17: Yo. I'm done. I was gonna give you Luna's part, but oh well. I don't feel well, so yeah. I'll update when I can. I love you guys and thank you for everything. Please review.


	18. Give Me Hope

FudoTwin17: So. Hey.

Cat: Apologies begin here.

FudoTwin17: Yes. I'm so sorry for my horrible updating. It's . . . terrible how much I keep you guys waiting, but I promise that this story will not be abandoned. I refuse to leave any of my stories unfinished, and if I ever know I can't finish them, they'll be handed off or deleted. And this story will never be handed off or deleted. This story is special. This is mine, and I promise you that I will finish it. So I am sorry for the way that life gets in the way, but I can't cut off my life for FF, even if I sometimes want to. So, moving on.

Dog # 1: Huh. That was a very . . . weird speech.

Cat: Yes. She's very possessive of her favorite stories, isn't she?

Dog # 1: Yeah.

FudoTwin17: I love you guys, and I hope this chapter is good. I don't own ANYTHING! Enjoy!

Chapter 16

"That's impossible." The girl whispered, backed against the creamy wall. Her golden eyes, wide and terrified, were locked on the pharaoh. She developed tunnel vision, the only thing she could see being the face that haunted so many. "No, no. You're impossible. It's not possible." She kept breathing.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. Everything is okay." Atem breathed, trying to move closer. His gaze darted to Isis for just a moment to see her mirrored confusion before he sharply returned his cutting crimson eyes to the adolescent again. Biting back a bated breath, he tried to inch forward again. "Tell me what's wrong. I want to help. Okay?"

She shook her head, closing her stunning eyes. Her soft, pale hands moved to her temples. "No, no. It's not possible. You can't be Yugi. I'm here to help Yugi. Can't be him." She murmured, pale green hair falling in her face.

However, Atem suddenly froze. For a moment, it felt as though his cape had lost its weight, and his crown fell away. The feeling of a duel disk, metal warm from skin he wore that wasn't really his, captured his arm, and leather clutched at his legs and chest. Not Atem, Yami. Yugi's Yami. Darkness to the light, his light, his best friend, his better half, his savior, his-

"Pharaoh?" Isis's voice, oddly worried, cut off his panicked train of thought and dragged him back to the comfortably warm room where he stood, arm heavy with gold reaching out still to the strange girl. He took a calming breath, but it was ragged. "Are you alright, Pharaoh?"

"Yes." He barely whispered.

It was rare for him to lose himself like that. He often thought of Yugi without panic attacks. To be honest, he'd never had that kind of feeling here, never here. The last time he'd felt so off balanced, Yugi's soul had been captured by stone (his fault_-__a__ll his fault_)_,_ but he tried not to think about that. He took a deep breath. It was really just the idea of Yugi being in need of help without him there that set him off. The protective instinct that came into play with Yugi (only Yugi) that he hadn't had triggered since he walked the earth was startling in its revival.

Of course, he still had little things, little thoughts and emotions mostly, that connected him to Domino-to Yugi. The feeling was familiar and just like when they would commune without words, only a little bit dimmer. It took a long time for him to understand it, but over time, he figured that a bond as strong as a mind link (_their mind link_) couldn't be broken so easily, not even by death, and there was a little part of him that was comforted by that because it meant that one day he might meet his friends again.

But recently, something had felt wrong. Time was hard to judge in the afterlife, but he knew it must've been a long time that he'd known something was wrong. It was Yugi's panicked thoughts, jumbled words (_No, don't give in. It hurts-BURNS-He wouldn't approve. I won't. Can't. Have to find him, need to succeed. The mission. Mission. Mission_), painful emotions, and the odd racing feeling and fleeting pains beneath his fingertips that he didn't understand and couldn't ignore.

And secretly, secretly, the pharaoh had been terrified.

But now there was proof that not only were his fears correct, but they needed help to save his best friend. His heart pounded at the little suspicion in the back of his mind, trying to flatten the hope that it gave him. If it was wrong . . . .

The girl went back to murmuring nonsense, and Atem forced himself to calm. He stepped forward again, reaching out to pull her hands into her lap. "What's your name?"

She went completely silent, those wide eyes on him. When she didn't say her name, lips continuing to form his partner's instead, it finally clicked. He wanted to smack himself for being so stupid! "My name is Atem." He introduced, watching as her eyes snapped to attention. "I'm Yugi's friend. What's your name?"

Sudden clarity came to her eyes as realization hit her. She took a shaky breath, composing herself before him (and the silent woman behind him). A flush slid up her neck and across her face. "My name is Luna. I-I'm sorry. That was-"

"It's fine, Luna." Atem tried to give her a smile, but his worry for Yugi was finally beginning to shine through. It was hard to keep up his forced calm. "We'll answer all of your questions, I promise, but first, will you tell us your story?"

Sharp gold eyes appraised him before a peculiar look (_Surprise? Relief? Fear? Joy? Caution?_) that the former pharaoh couldn't quite identify crossed her face. When her lips moved, both he and Isis frowned in confusion at the words that spilled forward, seeming to make perfect sense to their master.

"Let's rev it up."

And she told them _everything_.

. . .

"You want us all to enter? Are you mad?" Jack Atlas exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing despite knowing that the blond girl couldn't see him. There was a faint huff over the phone, and he felt an indignant scoff build up in his throat automatically.

"Of course not." Rebecca snapped back. "We need as many people to enter as possible."

Jack scowled harsher, making a harsh turn on his D-Wheel than necessary at the corner and ignoring the angry honks that resulted from his dangerous driving. His anger seemed to externalize in the form of his ever increasing speed. "Why waste our time on something as unimportant as a Dueling Tournament when we could be rescuing our _friends_?" He hissed, feeling his fury mount on hearing her growl.

"Because they're going to be in the tournament, you idiot!" She snarled, and he could practically hear her trying (and failing) to calm down. "I mean-I mean that-"

"How do you know?" His voice sounded oddly calm. For a moment (a moment in which she did not respond), he wondered if his quiet tone was sallowed by the winds. However, she did respond, though quiet and sounding oddly defeated.

"I-I have a hunch. I . . . I can't be sure of it-" The scowl that had only been familiar to the blond male in recent years spread across his features again as he interrupted the other.

"How do you know?"

There was a silence before she spoke. "Kaiba is hosting another duel tournament."

Jack frowned less in annoyance and more in confusion as he sharply swerved to avoid an oncoming hippie van. The silence coming over the speaker in his helmet was a bit unsettling, and he found that there was a part of him that wanted the feisty girl to yell again instead of reverting back to this painful silence. "So?" He prompted.

"So? Do you know Kaiba?" She asked. Thankfully, he didn't have to answer in the negative or prompt her again as she was suddenly speaking so fast that he could barely make sense of her words. "He's obsessive and obtrusive. He only ever did the real tournaments when Yugi was in action. When Yugi disappeared, the games died, and no amount of hinting or begging from his staff could revive them."

"But Yugi's back now." Jack pointed out, stubbornly not following her train of thought.

"Yeah, but he's being controlled by a crazy group of psychos." Rebecca pointed out, and Jack found that he had to concede that point. "My point is that Kaiba needs Yugi to be in the tournament for him to even consider restarting them. Why would he announce that there's going to be a tournament if there's a question of whether the King of Games is going to be in it or not? Obviously, he's confident that Yugi is going to be in it."

Jack frowned, noting how the genius girl managed to confine her entire thought process into a couple of sentences as if Kaiba weren't as complicated as any other human being. However, there were more pressing matters for him to be considering. "How can he be sure, though?"

"Exactly my thoughts." Rebecca replied quickly. "He can't, can he? Not unless someone else planted the thought in his head. But who would do that? It couldn't be just some random person. It has to be someone that he trusts, possibly with his life. It wouldn't be any of us considering that we don't know what's going on exactly yet. Then, a thought hit me. Who would be confident that they would become involved in the tournament?"

"Someone . . . someone who's part of the organization." Jack murmured, sudden realization hitting him like a train. He was careful, though, not to suddenly slow in case of letting the teal car on his bumper hit him.

"Exactly." She replied. There was a painful relish in her voice that made Jack wince slightly. Every time they discovered anything new, it seemed like they were adding another hurdle to the race they were running despite getting closer to the finish line. "So, that made me think. Who is it that this group probably has watching Kaiba?"

"A business associate?" Jack guessed, turning again and frowning when he realized he'd missed his last turn. "Darn it."

"No, of course not." Rebecca snapped back, regaining her less than kind affect. "No one would trust a businessman, but you know who you do trust?" She didn't wait for Jack to guess wrong again. "Security. I've seen it. Their security is more than security. They're loyal to a fault and are like family. I think the organization has a security guard at their service. After all, who else would you trust with your life?"

Jack could find no response as he made a U-turn (illegal or not) and sped toward the correct turn.

"See? Now, while I was thinking this, it occurred to me that Kaiba Corp. is huge. It's one of the biggest corporations in the entire country, and this group that has our friends has hands in _everything_, or at least, I think it does. That means that this person most likely has control over Kaiba Corp. as well. So, with that in mind, I couldn't call Kaiba about this possible breach in his security." She continued. Her volume steadily increased with her sounding excitement, and, theory or not, Jack could tell that she believed full-heartedly in her convictions. "I hacked the security tapes, and guess what I found? A security guard that continually influenced Kaiba to do another tournament by the name of Kira Dellington. At first I was wary, but I noticed something when I did a background check."

"What?" He asked, smiling as he finally made his way down the stretch of gleaming road over the glittering waters. He'd finally made the right turn.

"There was an accident she had when she was a child that is mentioned briefly in her digital records. I don't know what about it bothers me, but it stands out." He heard an odd shuffling and assumed that she'd moved her phone between her shoulder and head for full usage of her hands. He smiled softly. Yusei used to . . . . "The digital world can be influenced too easily, so I'm looking for the hard copy right now. Hold on a sec. I think I found it."

Jack waited, feeling oddly patient as he rode in a strange kind of bliss. He had an odd feeling of . . . peace. He couldn't explain it, staring at the slowly urbanizing island in the distance, the glistening water, and the shining bridge as he crossed it, but somehow, he finally felt . . . comfort.

There was a feeling of comfort in visiting the very thing that Yusei himself managed to save and create. This was the fruit of Yusei's labor as well as a piece of his childhood that he had lost in the eternity that Yusei had been missing.

The bridge was made of hope.

Rebecca cursed. "I knew something was wrong!"

Jack's smile fell. "What?"

"She died. Kira Dellington died in a fishing accident when she was five!" Rebecca exclaimed. "I knew it."

Jack felt his patience tighten. "Yeah, yeah, you got it! Now go warn Kaiba! You've sorted out who one of the moles is! We need to get rid of her _now_." He exclaimed.

There was a short pause. "No, I think not."

"What?" Jack exclaimed, feeling his anger mount. "You have to warn him! He's got one of them manipulating him!"

"No, no. I'm going to warn him!" She snapped back immediately. "But we can't remove her! Think for once in your life, Atlas!"

"I am thinking!" He snapped back, feeling both insulted and extremely furious.

"No, you're not. Otherwise you would've seen how beneficial this can be. She may be their playing piece, but now she's also our rook. Understand? We can bug her, figure out what they're planning and what they want through her! We can use her!" Rebecca exclaimed. She didn't wait for Jack's response, just rushed on. "I've gotta go talk to Kaiba! Bye!"

Immediately, his helmet sounded the ending of their conversation, and Jack felt a foul taste fill his mouth. He tried to submerge himself back inside the peaceful bliss he'd felt already, but it seemed to have left him with only a ghost of happiness he feared he may never meet again. Because of that conversation, he finally seemed to realize the extent of the game they were playing. This organization had hands in _everything_. This was a battle that, for the first time in his life, he didn't think everyone would escape unscathed.

The thought chilled his heart and sent a shudder down his spine.

Jack didn't want to think about it. No, he _needed_ not to think about it.

For the first time in his life, he really feared for his friends.

He blinked as the road turned to rough pavement, realizing that he'd gotten to the still rough part of the Satilite. Though it was much newer and better looking than when the bridge had first been built, it wasn't entirely (not even halfway) done with renovations. This area was specifically bad, but he loved it because it housed so many memories.

Jack had met Yusei here. Sure, he knew the other male from the orphanage, but they hadn't been friends.

It all changed here.

Jack closed his eyes, remembering. He didn't even look up when the door to the teal car that had been trailing him creaked open and a familiar figure stepped out. He was too lost in the old days.

. . .

FudoTwin17: I wanted to give you more, but you guys deserve an update, and I have to go right now. Bye!


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